Baby Steps
by humbleramblings
Summary: George Weasley/OC: Donella Stirling arrives at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in 1990 and all was well. But when the Golden Trio and other such characters begin to sort themselves into her life during her second year, trouble begins brewing. She finds her true place in the house of Gryffindor as the years pass and the events of the books unfold.
1. Chapter 1

This was it. It was finally her turn to be sorted into her house. Her name had just been called by Professor McGonagall, just after her closest friend actually. She truly had no idea which house she could possibly belong to. Ella had been told by her mother that it had always been hard to tell with her. She was as cunning as a Slytherin, as friendly as a Hufflepuff (most of the time), as creative as a Ravenclaw, and as bold as a Gryffindor. Ella had spent her whole life fantasizing about being sorted into her house at Hogwarts, and her father had constantly reminded her that any house should and _would_ be grateful to have her in its graces. Her closest, friend, Juniper, had just been sorted into Slytherin house and it was at times like these where Ella was thankful that she was so versatile. Perhaps they would be in the same house after all!

She hesitantly made her way up towards the stool, McGonagall holding up the Sorting Hat like the prized possession that it was. She could feel the eyes of all her fellow schoolmates boring into her with each step she took. She drew in a deep breath as she settled herself upon the stool and Professor McGonagall settled the Sorting Hat upon her head.

"Oh, dear!" The Sorting Hat exclaimed rather obnoxiously, startling Ella and the professor. "What a difficult one you are, aren't you? Hmmm," The Sorting Hat hummed. "Really could fit in anywhere. Tut tut tut, what to do with you? What to do with you?" The hat kept mumbling to itself as Ella sat beneath it, gnawing on her bottom lip. "Brave, cunning, loyal, kind, bright, brave. You really aren't making this easy for me are you, girl?"

Ella was getting nervous. The Sorting Hat was taking quite a while to work out where it was she was to be placed. 'Please put me in Slytherin,' She begged within her thoughts. 'Please, please put me with Juni,'

The hat sensed her thoughts immediately. "Now, while I'd like to just lump you in with your friend, dearie, greater things await you elsewhere." Ella's heart sank. "Gryffindor!" The Sorting Hat erupted. The Gryffindor table began an uproar of cheering and clapping, excited to have another new student in their house. Ella, on the other hand, was not so thrilled. She shot a remorseful look at her best friend, now sitting at the Slytherin table. So much for the same houses. Not only were they placed in different houses, but the two houses with the longest and most foul rivalry in Hogwarts history.

She picked out the first spot at the Gryffindor table that she laid her eyes on, across from a girl named Katie Bell, a fellow first year who she and Juni had sat with on the train, and beside two redheaded boys who seemed to be almost identical. Not much talking was done as the sorting ceremony went on. Aside from the occasional comments and snickering of the two boys beside her. After the sorting ceremony had ended Professor Dumbledore had risen from his throne-like chair to give his commencement speech. After which, the feast began.

Ella watched in absolute wonder as food magically appeared on the long table in front of her. Sure, she grew up in a pure-blooded family so she was exposed to magic her whole life, but it still never grew boring to her. She began to fill her plate with more than enough food as the Great Hall grew louder as the children began to chatter.

The first years around her began to introduce themselves and she made conversation with them but her eyes kept casting over to her best friend, Juniper, who had been doing the same at the Slytherin table. Oh, how she yearned to be sitting with her. She aimlessly shoved her food around her plate, her appetite dwindling as she dwelled on the situation.

"Hey," Ella heard a voice across from her say. She looked up from her moping to see Katie Bell smiling at her. "It'll be okay, Donella. If it makes you feel any better, you've got a friend in me."

Ella found herself smiling back at Katie. "Thanks, Katie. You have a friend in me too. I just wish Juniper was a Gryffindor too," She said with a sigh.

"Juniper?" She heard a voice, or maybe two, question from beside her. "You friends with a spice?"

She turned her head and saw those two redheaded boys, second years by the looks of them, staring at her. Were they speaking in unison? She scoffed at them, "No! Juniper is my best friend. Grew up together, we did. She's sitting right over there." She pointed out the blonde girl at the Slytherin table who waved back at Ella.

"Best friend?" One of them said.

"Good luck with that one." The other one finished.

Another redheaded boy who was sitting near the boys snapped at them. "Fred! George! That's enough! Don't you two have enough fun without worrying a first year?" He scolded them. He held out his hand for her to shake, which she did. "Hi. Percy Weasley," He introduced himself. "These are my idiot brothers, Fred and George."

"Hm." She clicked her tongue cheekily and quirked one of her eyebrows. While yes, she was quite friendly most of the time, she still had an attitude on her. "Twins, I presume."

"How'd you guess?" The twins asked her in unison, amused and intrigued by this new girl.

"And what was your name again?" George asked her.

"Donatello was it?" Fred asked.

Ella rolled her eyes and set her fork down. "No. _Donella_ , it was. Donella Stirling."

Sensing that Ella was getting a bit frustrated with the twins poking and prodding, Katie cut in again. "So Donella, not that I don't find your name beautiful, but is it okay if I call you Ella?" She asked her.

Pleased to be talking to her new friend again, Ella's tone changed. "Absolutely. That's actually what everyone calls me, thank you."

After that little tiff with the twins dinner went by rather smoothly. Katie and Ella actually hit it off quite well and were having a rather nice time. Once dinner was finished all the students began to to filter out of the great hall to find their house prefects in order to be led to the dormitories.

Immediately Ella went to find Juniper in the crowd, and within a few minutes they sought each other out. They managed to get in a quick hug while standing near the edge of the hoard of students.

"Juni, I'm so sorry. I tried, I really did! I told that ratty old hat to put me in Slytherin but it didn't listen!" Ella apologized profusely.

"Don, don't be sorry,," Juniper assured her. "I'm not upset with you at all. I kind of had the feeling that you would be a Gryffindor anyways. And don't worry, I know what people at dinner probably told you. I heard it from my house too. I promise we'll still be best friends. Forever." She offered Ella a smile and her pinky finger.

Ella returned her friend's smile and hooked her pinky with Juniper's. "And always," She agreed with her. They began to shuffle slowly out of the great hall with the rest of the students. "But how are you liking it so far? Make any friends at dinner?"

"Yeah," Juniper said. "Believe it or not, there are some nice people in Slytherin. They aren't all bad you know." She sighed and bit her lip. "I'm just nervous is all." She lowered her voice to a faint whisper. "Slytherins have had a reputation to have it out for muggle-borns. And nobody knows that I'm- that I'm a _mudblood_. At least not yet." She uttered the word "mudblood" quietly and sadly. She obviously had no problem with having muggle parents, but she had heard loads of all the bullying that went on. It was hard to not let that get to you.

"Don't say that!" Ella said to her sharply. "You know that's a terrible thing to call anyone, especially yourself! That is a foul word and it has _nothing_ to do with your worth? You understand me?"

Juniper nodded. "I know. I'm just preparing to have that word thrown at me when the others find out."

Ella looked at her sympathetically. She wished she could just take Juni with her to the Gryffindor common room and have her switch houses, as easy as that. But unfortunately, that isn't how things worked. She was separated from her best friend, that's all she could think about. Gryffindor didn't even run in her family. Ella came from two long lines of Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. What "great things" could possibly await her in Gryffindor? Something just didn't seem right about all this. She absolutely hated that she would be forced to spend her nights without Juni, so she resorted to the next best thing.

"You know that journal that I gave to you on the train?" Ella asked Juni. When Juni nodded she continued. "Write me a note in it when you get settled into your dormitory. It'll come in handy for us." She winked at Juni, which Juni returned with a coy smile. "I'm sorry, but I've got to go." Ella said as they neared the main corridor. She embraced her lifelong friend tightly. "Good luck," She whispered in her ear before letting her go off towards the other Slytherin children.

Ella watched her best friend up until the moment that she rounded the corner towards the dungeons. She then felt a hand on her and sure enough when she turned, it was Katie Bell. "Come on, Ella. Let's go get settled in." Ella nodded and gave her a smile. This was going to be an interesting year.


	2. Ten Sickles

"Have you heard the news?" Juni yelped excitedly as she all but threw herself into the train compartment after buying sweets from the trolley.

"What?" Ella replied, not even looking up from her charms book as she absentmindedly twirled her wand in hand. She found charms awfully fascinating. Actually, she was quite gifted with them, healing spells especially. "That a boy named Neville has lost a toad? Yes, we heard. Some first year girl already came by looking for it."

Juni rolled her eyes and sat down next to Katie, shoving Ella's legs playfully as she sat across from her. "No! That Harry Potter is on the train! Isn't that exciting?"

"You mean the Harry Potter? As in 'The Boy Who Lived?'" Cho asked her. Juni, Katie, and Ella had befriended her last year and they had actually formed quite the nice little quartet.

"Is there any other?" Juni was happy that someone shared her interest in this. Unlike Ella and Katie, who had been on and on about Quidditch and spells since the train departed for Hogwarts. Katie, Ella, and Cho had all tried out for their Quidditch teams last year, but unfortunately were turned away for being first years. At least Cho could talk about something else other than Quidditch.

"I wonder what house he'll be sorted to?" Katie wondered as she tore her attention away from her Quidditch catalog.

Ella finally closed her spellbook and set it aside, resigning to the conversation with her friends. "My money's on Gryffindor."

"Yeah?" Juniper challenged her. She leaned forward with her elbows on her knees. "Well, my money's on Slytherin. How much you want to put in?"

Ella rolled her eyes and laughed. "Don't be daft, Juni. I was only joking."

"Really? Even if I were to place five sickles on it?"

Juni smiled when she saw that familiar glint in Ella's eyes. Ella had always had a knack for gambling. Honestly one of the brightest girls in her year, she usually was able to work out the statistics of a situation and place her bet on the right party. She really was quite a clever girl. Not that she would ever admit it to anyone, but she really quite enjoyed making bets.

"Fine. You're on then. And I'll do you one better," Ella said and reached into her bag. "I see your five sickles," she pulled out the coins, "and I'll raise you another five." Ella and Juni clasped their hands, sealing their bet, and smiled at each other.

"You two are ridiculous, you know," Katie said fondly. "Besides, who cares what house he belongs to! We have more important things to worry about, like making the Quidditch team. Any excuse to spend some more time with the Weasley twins, right Ella?" She winked and elbowed Ella in the side.

Ella picked up her spell book once again and buried her nose in it. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Katie."

"Oh, please! Ever since the first time they asked you to help them steal a vial of leech juice from Snape's storeroom last year you've basically been infatuated from those two."

Ella blushed. "That is not true! Besides, I didn't even help them take it." She really didn't know why there was so much color rising to her cheeks or why she was so bloody defensive right now.

"Yeah," Juni snorted. "That's why they dragged Lee Jordan along with them to sit with you at breakfast, lunch, and dinner for about half the year."

"And why they've been writing you all summer," Cho agreed.

Ella rolled her eyes. "I don't know why all of you have your knickers in a twist. So I'm friends with them, what's the big deal?"

"Well, speak of the devil and the devil shall appear," Juni said, shooting a smirk towards the two redheads outside of the door to their train compartment. "Or should I say devils?"

"Hello, ladies," Fred and George said in perfect unison. Per the usual.

Ella acknowledged them with a subtle hum of greeting as she continued the flip through pages of charms. The twins exchanged a confused look, she hardly ever greeted them like that.

"What's your deal, Ellie?" Fred asked her.

"Still sore over Quidditch tryouts last year?" George asked her, a smile creeping onto his face.

"Oh, sod off, you two. You know I absolutely hate it when you call me that," Ella replied to them. She tried to keep a tone of annoyance in her voice but she just couldn't. Truthfully speaking, the twins were two of her closest friends. During her first year, while they sometimes gave her hell, they really had shown her the ropes at Hogwarts. Sat with her when she was alone, told her jokes when she was stressed, helped her train for Quidditch, and above all were just a great pair of friends. They'd even introduced her to their friend, Angelina, a chaser on the Quidditch team, and Ella had been beside herself with adoration.

"Well I suppose that's why we keep doing it then, isn't it?" Fred said and tousled Ella's hair which earned him a good swatting at.

"Don't you have anyone else you could go and bother? Isn't your brother here for his first year now? Robert, was it?" Ella snapped her book shut and set it on her lap. She knew his name was Ronald.

"Ronald, actually," Fred answered her, just as snappily.

"Nice try though, Ellie," George chuckled as irritation flashed through Ella's eyes.

"Well, it's hard to keep track when there's so bloody many of you!" There was a fire in her eyes. That's why the twins fancied her so much. She had a quick wit and a sharp tongue. She kept them on their toes. They knew exactly how to push her buttons, and if she so desired to, she knew how to push theirs as well. They were a chaotic little trio when they ran together, but that is precisely why they were so much fun.

Fred and George had seen that they had gotten enough of a rise out of her for now. "We'll be seeing you at dinner then?" Fred asked her as they began to leave.

Ella sighed and let her smile ease back onto her face. "Don't you always?"

The boys laughed and started to walk away. But right before George was almost out the door he leaned back and said, "See you then, Ellie!"

Ella glared at the boys as they walked away, she really did despise that name. "Stupid, knobheads," Ella mumbled to herself under her breath. She glanced at the small watch that her father had given her as a birthday present, they would be arriving shortly. She looked down at her painfully boring jeans and jumper and started to get her bag down from the overhead shelf. "We'll be at school soon, we should probably start changing into our robes." The other girls nodded and began to do the same.

Once they had changed into their robes, they had almost arrived at Hogwarts. All of the girls were ecstatic that they didn't have to take the boats to the castle this year. They really were dreadful to ride in. They got to take the carriages this year, how exciting! None of them really knew how the carriages moved on their own. No matter, they were still a great deal better than the boats.

Once they had arrived at the castle everyone was bustling with excitement. Harry Potter, the boy who lived, was to be sorted into his house! Ella found herself being dragged into the drama by her peers, she had to admit, it would be quite interesting to see where he belonged. All of the students were ushered into The Great Hall to wait for the first years. Ella took her normal seat next to Fred and George and across from Katie, and Cho and Juni bid their goodbyes to them for dinner and found their own seats at their respective house tables. It was nice to be around all her house friends again, even the ghosts that took their seats among the children as well. Once everyone had been seated, the doors were opened and a sea of first years came flooding into The Great Hall with excitement and amazement written all over their faces.

"Look, Fred! There's our ickle Ronniekins!" George whispered to Fred and pointed to Ron who was was walking alongside a boy with shaggy black hair and big green eyes.

Fred sniggered. "He looks scared half to death!"

All of the students waited in a pregnant silence, waiting for Professor McGonagall to speak. While they had all been chatty moments ago, they all stopped in their tracks when the professor stepped forward.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," She announced to room. "Abbott, Hannah!" And a small blonde girl with pigtails made her way timidly out of the crowd.

"Hufflepuff," Ella mouthed to Katie as if she knew exactly where the Abbott girl was to be placed. Katie made a face of agreement and nodded. And sure enough, they were right! And the little blonde girl made her merry way over the the Hufflepuff table. Another girl was placed in Hufflepuff. Then a boy placed in Ravenclaw. Then another student to Ravenclaw. But then finally a student was sent to the Gryffindor table, a young girl named Lavender Brown. The table around her erupted into cheers and applause, and Ella happily joined in. Fred and George cat called from beside her and she rolled her eyes in annoyance.

Many other students were sorted into their houses but there had been little to no Gryffindors so far. But then a "Granger, Hermione" all but ran to the Sorting Hat and found herself placed in Gryffindor. She had big frizzy hair and a cute face, despite her large front teeth, and Ella had hoped that she would sit near her and Katie. But no, the Hermione girl had taken a seat next to Percy Weasley. Poor girl.

The Sorting Ceremony continued on and on, Gryffindor gaining more students, which Ella was happy about, but The Great Hall broke into hushed murmurs and excited whispers as Professor McGonagall finally shouted out, "Potter, Harry!"

"Here we go," Katie said.

Ella smiled. "I'm about to win ten sickles off of Juni," She said smugly.

Ella and the rest of the hall listened intently as the Sorting Hat wrestled intently with Harry's thoughts. It appeared as though "The Boy Who Lived" really didn't want to be sorted into Slytherin, and that worked greatly in Ella's favor. The Sorting Hat went back and forth for a few more moments before bellowing out, "Better be...GRYFFINDOR!"

The table, Ella included, went wild. The twins next to her kept screaming, "We got Potter! We got Potter!" And with good reason, too. Gryffindor had gotten Harry Potter! Plain old Ella Stirling, sarcastic bookworm to the stars, was in the same house as Harry Potter. She tried not to show it earlier, but she really did care. This was exciting! He even sat near her! But there was no way that she was going to initiate conversation with him, she was far too shy for that.

Fairly soon after that, Ron was called up to the stool and it came as no surprise that he had gotten into Gryffindor. Percy reached over Harry dramatically so that everyone would know that the new Gryffindor boy he was congratulating was his brother. As if the shared last name and the red hair didn't already give it away.

The Sorting Ceremony continued on until there were no more students to be sorted. Then, Headmaster Dumbledore rose from his seat, presumably to give a profound speech. But instead he merely gave a few words of, "Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! And tweak!" Ella shook her head with a smile, she was quite fond of the mystical old man. She was used to his strange antics after a year of being at Hogwarts, but she could tell that the first years were a tad bit confused by him.

Immense amounts of luxurious food came into view as the platter in front of the students magically filled themselves with a feast. Everyone's eyes, especially the first years', lit up at the sight of the food and everyone started to tuck in to the dinner. Ella watched in amusement as a first year by the name of Seamus Finnigan made the mistake of asking Nearly Headless Nick how he got his nickname and sniggering at the new student's horrified expressions as he pulled his head to the side so it was barely attached to his body.

The feast continued on and Ella was trying to ignore Fred and George as they begged her to help them sneak into Snape's storeroom with them and their best friend, Lee Jordan. "No! I absolutely refuse!" Ella said. "I'm trying to get on the Quidditch team this year, get good marks, and it would be nice if Gryffindor could win the house cup for the first time in years. So I will not be gallivanting around the school after hours and getting points taken away, thank you very much!"

"Gosh, Ellie," Fred said, "you're a lot of fun to be around when you aren't being a massive killjoy!"

"Yeah!" George agreed. "Live a little!"

"You two are ridiculous," Ella grumbled and went back to her dinner. Her ears managed to catch some of Hermione and Percy's conversation. They were discussing when lessons would start and what they would entail. Hermione sounded so excited to learn and it made Ella even more anxious to be friends with her than she already was. Hermione already reminded Ella a lot of herself. Nerdy, eager to learn, passionate, and a bit of an outcast. The only reason that Ella had ever really come out of her shell had been Fred and George. They poked and prodded at her shell until she could just barely poke her head through it, but she still had a long way to go.

She noticed Harry clasp his head over his forehead with a pained expression, and she was about to ask if he was alright but of course, Percy beat her to it. But Harry had insisted that he was fine and went back to talking to Ron. Ella kept a wary eye on him. She had always been very in tune to others were feeling and she could tell that something had deeply bothered Harry. But she figured that he was already overwhelmed enough with everything. There was no need to smother him further. Then the Great Hall fell completely silent again as Professor Dumbledore rose once again.

"Ahem — just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you.

"First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well." Dumbledore's eyes flashed to Fred and George and Ella had to hold back a snort. Dumbledore had ended his speech with a warning to not enter the third floor corridor on the right hand side with the promise that any who did would die a very painful death. Ella felt a shiver run through her as he said this, he must have been serious this time.

But, of course, they had to sing the school song before they went off to bed and Ella cringed. After her rather large dinner the only that Ella wanted to do was go to up to her dormitory and go to sleep. She cringed even further harder as Fred and George were the only two in the entire hall who were still singing. She felt as if she recoiled any further, she might actually implode, but the twins hadn't a care in the world. When they were dismissed all of the first years were following Percy out of the Great Hall and Ella sneered. "No, thank you," She thought to herself. She really was not in the mood to be crammed against a whole lot a first years with Percy yelling orders at her.

Then she felt a hand on her arm, it was George's. "We know a quicker way out of here," George said.

"So, if you and Ms. Bell would like to accompany us quietly we just might be able to smuggle you two out of here without all that rubbish," said Fred.

Ella giggled and grabbed Katie's hand, allowing the twins and Lee to lead them as they wove through the giant crowd of prefects and first years into a secret passageway. Ella begged them to tell her how they possibly could have known where this was and how to use it but they absolutely refused to tell her. By the time the five of them got up to the Gryffindor common room it was still totally empty. Everyone else still must have been caught up on the staircases with Percy. Poor things. While bending the rules still made Ella's skin prick, she had to admit, being friends with Fred and George Weasley had its perks.

Ella and Katie were the first girls back in the dormitory and they wordlessly changed into their pajamas, too tired for smalltalk. Ella fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the fluffy pillow. There was an almost excited crackle to the air around her. This was going to be an extraordinary year, she could tell.


	3. Quidditch Tryouts

"Katie," Ella said shakily, "I don't think I can do this."

"Don't be silly! Of course you can," Said Katie.

"No. I think I'm going to vomit."

Ella and Katie were standing in the large group of Gryffindor students waiting for Quidditch tryouts to begin. Ella was beside herself with glee for weeks when she found out that there were openings on the team once again. But now that the day was actually here Ella couldn't recall a time that she had felt more nervous. Sure, she had tried out for the team last year, but that was merely for practice! She knew that she wouldn't make the team because she was a first year. But what if she didn't make the team this year sheerly because she was awful? What if they told her she was no good? What if they told her to hit the road, to give up Quidditch for good and —

Her fears were cut short as more students in scarlet red Quidditch robes wandered out onto the pitch. It was Oliver Wood, the team Keeper and Captain, Fred and George, the team Beaters, and Angelina Johnson, the team's only remaining Chaser from last season. Ella's nerves calmed down considerably when she laid her eyes on Fred and George. Having them there certainly made things easier. They shot her beaming smiles as they approached the large hoard of contenders, Ella included.

"Alright!" Oliver said loudly enough so that everyone could hear him. "Welcome to this year's Quidditch tryouts, everyone!" He began to pace in front of them all and began his speech. "Quidditch is not for the faint of heart, so if you even suspect for a minute that you can't handle it, I would suggest that you step out now." When no one moved, he grinned. "Brilliant! Okay, down to business. We have three positions open and a whole lot of reserve positions open. We need two new Chasers, a new Seeker, and people to fill the reserve positions in case one of gets hurt, or dies."

A third year girl named Alicia Spinnet next to Ella snorted with laughter. "Bet you he's bluffing." And Ella had to stifle a giggle.

Oliver mounted his broom and quickly shot into the air, hovering above all of them. "I'll be sorting you into mock teams and you'll have to play each other. That's how we'll determine whether or not you have what it takes. We need the absolute best of the best this season, so give it all you got! Do not hold back! We have to win the House Cup this year so I will be watching very, _very_ closely."

Of course, Ella had been placed on the team opposite of Katie. Part of her, well most of her, was so excited to be playing Quidditch again. But the other part of her was completely mortified because Katie was placed on the "opposing" team! How on earth was she supposed to go against one of her close friends like that? After all, Quidditch was a tough game and Ella wasn't too keen on playing rough with one of her friends like that.

But regardless, Ella mounted her broom and sprang into the air, ready to play. Oliver sat on his broom, hovering at a good vantage point from which he could watch the entire match. Fred, George and Angelina stood in the middle of the pitch, they were to release the Quaffle, Bludgers, and the Snitch.

Ella glanced up nervous and her eyes met with Katie. Katie gave her a curt nod and mouthed to her, "Do it." Ella nodded back. They both understood what they needed to do. No holding back. No favoritism. Surely they could do that. Ella took a deep calming breath and tightened her grip around her Cleansweep Six.

"Good luck," said Fred, winking, and he threw the Quaffle into the air. George unstrapped the two Bludgers and they began to shoot around the field. Angelina unleashed the Golden Snitch and it shot out of sight, the Seekers eyes trying desperately to follow it.

The second that the Quaffle was in the air Ella shot forward and she thanked her lucky stars as she felt her arm secure around it. Good. She had gotten it. Now all she had to do was score. Brilliant. She could do that. She began to weave in and out of other players, dodging other Chasers and just barely evading Bludgers. The Beaters on her team were following her closely, swatting at the Bludgers and kicking other players away to keep them from stopping her.

But, of course, one of the opposing Chasers broke the ranks of the Beaters defending her, and he was closing in on her. She began to panic. The match had just started, she couldn't screw up now. She could see the whites of the Keeper's eyes now. She was so close! Ella wanted to score so desperately that she could feel the coppery taste of blood in her mouth from anxiously chewing on her tongue. She wanted to be the one to score the first goal, to impress Oliver. But she knew that it just wasn't possible right now, the Chaser behind her would intercept her before she got the chance. Her eyes locked with Alicia Spinnet's on the other side of the posts and they both seemed to understand.

Ella hurled the Quaffle at Alicia and it landed safely in her arms. Ella watched carefully as she began to rush towards Alicia to help defend her. Alicia was approaching the posts. Ducking and weaving and maneuvering in all kinds of directions in order to confuse the Seeker. Alicia chucked the Quaffle. It was flying. It was almost there. Just a bit further now and — YES! The Quaffle had made it into one of the goal posts!

"Hm, that was a good move by Stirling," said Oliver.

"Agreed," chorused Fred and George who were now hovering next to Oliver. They did indeed sound a little smug about that.

Ella's confidence soared unbelievably after her team scored that first goal. She felt a renewed fire in her chest, the need to win. She could feel her competitive attitude ebbing its way into her mind more and more as the game progressed. Suddenly, Oliver Wood didn't matter. Her friend Katie didn't matter. Every time Katie scored a goal Ella would get excited, but then the bitter little voice inside of her head would remind her of her priorities. _She isn't your friend. She is the enemy._ Ella would cringe at that, but continue on anyways.

The match had been going on for about an hour now and the teams were tied. In all honesty, most of the goals of the game had been scored by Ella, Alicia, and Katie. Oliver was greatly impressed. Especially given the fact that Ella and Katie were only twelve years old. Ella's muscles were sore and she could feel a bruise forming on her arm from when Katie had checked her in order the deter her from the Chaser about to score against Ella's team. She didn't hold it against Katie though. She would have done the same thing if it had been her.

Then Oliver blew his whistle, rather loudly too, and everyone began to descend from the air and land down on the pitch. "Well done, everybody! We're going to have to make some very tough decisions this season! You're all free to go. The list of who makes the team will be posted in the common room in tomorrow morning. Thank you!" Oliver ended his speech rather dramatically and everyone made their way to the locker rooms to change out of their Quidditch robes.

Ella stripped the bright scarlet material off of her sweat soaked body and sighed in relief as she felt the cool air hit her damp skin. She didn't realize how hard she had been working until just now. Her muscles were aching so much and she could practically hear the creaking of her joints as she moved. She pulled on her her sweater, scarf, and jeans and began to walk with Katie back to the castle.

"Blimey, Katie, couldn't have given me break?" Ella said as she tried to rub away the pain on her arm. "This bruise'll be here for months!"

Katie scoffed. "Like you held back! You almost knocked me off my broom three times!"

"You had the Quaffle! I couldn't _not_ try and knock you off!"

The girls dissolved into laughs and playful little shoves as they neared the castle entrance. The weather was starting to get colder so they picked up their pace, their arms wrapped tightly around their bodies to create even the tiniest bit of extra warmth. When they entered the castle through the Middle Courtyard, Cho and Juni were waiting there for them excitedly.

"So?" Juni said anxiously. "How did it go? Did you make it?"

"We won't know until tomorrow but I think it went well," Ella said.

"Yeah, honestly we scored most of the goals. Some of the boys seemed like they'd never seen a girl Chaser before!" Katie said, giggling. "It was really funny."

"Yeah but this other girl, Alicia Spinnet, was brilliant too. Our team wouldn't have done nearly as well without her. And she's really — here she comes now! Oi, Alicia!" Ella called out.

Alicia was walking into the castle, rubbing her hands up and down her arms due to the cold, and smiled at them when her name was called. She jogged over to them. "Hey! You guys did really good out there! I think Oliver was impressed. I hope you guys make the team!" Alicia glanced up at one of the clocks posted around the castle. Well, I've got to go. I have a foot of parchment to write for Potions that I want to get done before dinner. But I'll see you all later!" Alicia called over her shoulder as she walked away.

"Speaking of which," Ella said straightening her glasses, "we should probably get our assignments done too." All the others groaned, but Ella was having none of that. "Oh, please! Don't be babies! Come on, it'll be fun. Katie and I are going to grab our books and we'll meet you in the library in twenty minutes, okay?" Everyone agreed and made their way to their dormitories to get their books.

"You really are way too eager to do homework, you know that?" Katie asked her as they walked throughout the castle.

"What? Is it a bad thing that I want to do well in school and I — AGH!" Ella screamed as they rounded the corner.

Fred and George doubled over in laughter after having scared the living daylights out of Ella and Katie. "That was so good!" Fred said between guffaws.

"You should have seen your faces!" George said.

"Oh, you complete assholes Fred and George Weasley! Ella said as she shoved and swatted at them. "You scared me half to death!"

"Language, Donnie!" George chided her.

"Yeah! We'll have to owl your mother the next time we hear you talking like that!" Fred agreed with a wicked smile on his face.

Ella rolled her eyes. "Right, like you two are saints! You're gonna owl my mother? Fine, let's see how your mother reacts when I owl her about all the nonsense that you two get up to when she's not around."

The twins looked and her through narrowed eyes. "You wouldn't." They said threateningly.

"Oh, but wouldn't I?" Ella said back with just as much ferocity. Katie's eyes were darting in between Ella and twins trying to decide if they were messing around or if they were actually going to start fighting.

"Hm, touché," Fred said, the tension in his shoulders melting away. "Anywho, we actually need your help with something."

"I will not be helping you do anything that is going to get me into trouble," said Ella, crossing her arms and tapping her foot impatiently.

Katie gently tugged on her arm. "C'mon, Ella. Let's just go."

"Wait, hang on!" Said George hastily. "We really need your help, Donnie."

"What could you possibly need _my_ help with? And stop calling me Donnie!"

"We need your help with our Confusing Concoction, you see," Said Fred.

George continued, "We've been up in our dorm for the past three nights trying to get a brew that will actually work and we just can't seem to get it to thicken. We were hoping you could help us brew it this time. You've always been good at potions."

Once again, Ella's eyes rolled. "Don't you two ever pay attention in class? Wait ten minutes and if it doesn't thicken then just add more leech juice," Ella said as if it was the most obvious solution and began to stroll away with Katie. But she abruptly stopped and turned on her heel. "Wait! What are you two doing brewing a potion outside of class?!"

"No need to say anymore, we've got what we need now. Thanks, Ellie!" Fred said as they began to run down the opposite corridor before Ella could rip their heads off.

Ella stomped her foot angrily. "Oh, those two! They always somehow force information out of me! Now whatever they're using that potion for is going to be entirely my fault!"

"I wouldn't exactly say that they 'forced it' out of you, Ella. If I didn't know you better I'd say that you wanted to help them with that potion." Katie said, smirking at her friend.

Ella's freckled face turned bright red. "Me? Want to help them cause trouble? You must have taken a few too many knocks to the head out there, Katie. I would never." And Ella strode ahead of Katie stubbornly.

Katie caught up to her quickly. "How'd you even know about that potion anyways? We don't start learning Confusing Concoctions until next year."

"I read a lot of Potion books," Ella said with a shrug.

"You really are too eager, Ella."

Katie, Ella, Cho, and Juni spent the next couple of hours in the library doing homework and studying for tests. Ella, Cho, and Katie were grumbling nasty insults about Professor Snape while they wrote their papers for Potions.

"He really isn't all bad, you know," Juni said.

Ella scoffed. "Yeah, maybe not to you. You're a Slytherin. Everyone knows that Snape is partial to Slytherin students."

"Oh no!" Juni said. "Don't get me wrong, I think Snape's a right git too, but there are worse people in Slytherin than him."

"Like who?" Cho asked.

Juni looked around as if she was afraid someone would hear her. She leaned in and whispered, "Have any of you had the pleasure of meeting Draco Malfoy yet?" When the other girls shook their heads she continued. "Well, he's a really nasty boy. He really has it out for people like me."

"People like you?" Katie asked her.

"Yeah. Mudbloods." The words rolled off of Juni's tongue as if they were poison. "He hates them. Thinks that we're the most disgraceful thing to ever happen to the wizarding world. And he makes it very hard to forget that I have muggle parents." Juni looked away as if she was going to cry.

"Stop it!" Ella said heatedly. "To hell with Draco Malfoy! You're a brilliant witch, Juni. You have other friends in your house right?" Juni nodded. "Then stick with them when you aren't with us, and if he ever gives you any flack about being Muggle-born then you come to me straight away and I'll take care of it."

Juni sniffed and nodded again, rubbing her eyes. She looked down at her watch and her eyes widened. "Blimey, we're going to be late for dinner! We've got to go!" All the girls scrambled to get all their belongings so they could get back to their dorms to change back into their robes. In Ella's opinion, it was completely ludicrous that they had to wear their full uniforms just to eat a meal.

Ella's wrist caught Juni's before they went their separate ways, Ella to Gryffindor Tower and Juni to the Dungeons. She pulled her into a hug. "I love you, you know."

Juni hugged her back. "I know. I love you too."

Ella looked at her critically for a few moments and Juni asked her, "What?"

"Oh nothing, I just think you're gonna do something amazing one day. Maybe be the Minister of Magic or something."

"Yeah right! Get out of here, you lunatic!" Juni said while laughing and pushed Ella towards the stairs. She made her way towards the dungeon, clutching her books. Now that Ella had planted the idea in her head, she gave it some thought. Her? The Minister of Magic? She walked into the Slytherin common room, happily gnawing her lip and ignoring Malfoy's shouted slurs at her.

* * *

Ella was eating her dinner quite contently, the crowd around her was bigger than normal. Tonight she wasn't just eating with Katie. Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet were now sitting by them, eagerly chatting up a storm about Quidditch and how Alicia suspected that Angelina had a crush on Fred.

Ella was talking rather animatedly the Scottish Quidditch team. "Honestly, it's embarrassing how lousy they've been recently! At this rate they're never going to —" She was cut off when Fred and George swooped in on either side of her and pressed very wet and very loud kisses to each of her cheeks. "Ew!" Ella exclaimed as she wiped their spit off of her face. "What the bloody hell was that for!?"

"It worked," Fred said, obviously pleased.

"On the first try, actually," George said, equally as pleased.

" _What_ worked?" Ella seethed. She wasn't exactly ecstatic that her nice dinner had been interrupted. All the girls around her were trying to stifle their giggles as they watch smoke practically shooting out of Ella's ears.

"The potion of course!" George said as he and Fred sat themselves on either side of Ella, forcing Katie and Angelina to move over.

Ella groaned and her head fell into her hands, her fingers tugging at her red hair. "Merlin, you two are going to get me expelled one of these days."

"Not if we don't tell on you," Fred said with a wink.

"You're the absolute worst, both of you," Ella said as she chugged her pumpkin juice.

"Maybe," said George, pretending to ponder to her snide comment. "But you love us."

Ella snorted. "Yeah, you wish, Weasley."

Fred and George started to load up their own plates with food and joined in on the girls' conversation about Quidditch, the topic of Angelina's alleged crush on Fred was quickly expunged though. They talked, ate, and laughed for about another hour before they all felt the weight of the day start to make them drowsy.

As they walked to Gryffindor tower Ella was desperately trying to get Fred and George to tell her if she had made the team. "Please? I swear I won't tell a soul! Not even Juni!"

"Oh? And what happened to following the rules?"

"Yeah, we aren't allowed to say a single thing!"

Ella narrowed her eyes, much like they had done to her earlier. "And when have you two ever been fond of following rules?"

Fred slung an arm around her. "We've never been fond of that, but you, Ellie, are very fond of following rules. We must keep you pure."

"Right you are, Freddie," George agreed. "It's our job to keep you respectable, Donnie,"

Ella shrugged Fred's off of her and told the password to the Fat Lady and strode into the common room. "As if! And would _please_ stop calling me that, George Weasley!"

"Stop calling me by my full name and we'll talk."

Ella tugged at her hair again. "You two are honestly just so infuriating!"

"You know, you can keep saying that, but that won't make it true," Fred said as he plopped himself down in one of the squatty armchairs. Ella huffed in annoyance but sat down in a nearby armchair as well.

"See what we mean?" George asked with a smile. "If you really found us so irritating then you would march right up to your dormitory with Katie and leave us alone, but you don't."

Ella tried to scowl at them, her arms and legs crossed and a stern expression on her face, but she couldn't. Her face dissolved into a defeated smile. "Alright, I'll bite. You caught me." She ran her hand through her and then pointed her finger at them accusingly. "I _do_ like your company but you cannot tell me that you don't try to push my buttons."

"Oh, we definitely do," George agreed.

Fred laughed. "You just make it so easy, Ellie! We can't help it."

Ella fell into laughter with them too. These were the moments with Fred and George that she loved. When there wasn't really anyone else around and the three of them could just make jokes and talk and laugh together. Ella spent about an hour with them in the common room before she looked at her watch and her heart almost stopped.

"Merlin! It's getting so late! I've got to go upstairs and finish my Potions essay or Snape will have my head!" Without even saying goodnight Ella dashed up the stairs to the girls dormitory, Fred and George's laughs following her.

* * *

"Ella!" Katie shouted as she tried to shake her friend awake. "Come on, get up! The list is posted! The list is posted!"

Ella slowly lifted her head off of her pillow, wiping the drool off her cheek. "What?" She smacked her lips together groggily.

Katie rolled her eyes. "The list for the Quidditch team! Come on!" She grabbed Ella's hand and dragged her out of bed.

Ella had never been a morning person, especially when she had been up half the night finishing a Potions essay, but that really kicked her into gear. "Um — Merlin, okay," she mumbled frantically as she tied her ginger hair into a very messy bun, pulling her robes on haphazardly. Katie was waiting by the door the whole time, bouncing anxiously on her toes.

Katie and Ella rushed down the stairs to the common room, it wasn't very crowded, mostly everyone had gone down to breakfast. They stood in front of the list, which seemed to be in Oliver's handwriting, and scanned it for their names.

 **Reserve Chasers:**

Alicia Spinnet

Thomas Gallagher

Jasmine Maxter

 **Reserve Beaters:**

Mark Lucas

Joseph Chen

 **Reserve Keeper:**

Hayley Rudford

 **Chasers:**

Angelina Johnson

Katie Bell

Donella Stirling

 **Beaters:**

Fred Weasley

George Weasley

 **Keeper (and Captain):**

Oliver Wood

"Katie…" Ella said in a dreamy voice.

"Ella…" Katie said just as airily.

"WE MADE IT!" Ella exclaimed as she threw her arms Katie. "I CAN'T BELIEVE WE'VE ACTUALLY DONE IT!" The two girls were clutching each other as if their lives depended on it.

"I KNOW!" Katie yelled happily. They continued to scream and jump up and down excitedly until a sixth year girl came down from the dormitories and told them to "Keep it down, will you?! Some of us are trying to sleep in!"

They quieted down, but still spoke in hushed and excited voices. "Wait," Katie said, looking at the list again, "there's no Seeker on this list." She lifted it up to check the backside. "That's odd."

"That's impossible," Ella said. "There's no way we won't have a Seeker. Woods probably just wants to reveal it as some big secret weapon, you know how he is."

Ella and Katie made their way down to the Great Hall, giggling and beaming the whole time. Ella could tell that she was going to have a hard time concentrating in any class today. She was going to be way too busy fantasizing about Quidditch.


	4. The Girl in the Bathroom

"I'll see you in Transfiguration, I'm just gonna run to the loo," Ella said as her and Juni walked out of their Potions class with Katie. The other girls said goodbye to her and started to stroll towards the Transfiguration classroom. Ella made her way to one of the girls lavatories on the main floor. She strode into the bathroom and stood in front of a mirror over one of the sinks, trying desperately to tame her wavy red hair. She blew a stray strand out of her eyes and gave up on it entirely. That's when she heard a small sniffle come from one of the bathroom stalls.

Ella's ears perked when she heard the sound. She thought that no one was in the bathroom with her. "Hello?" Ella asked. "Is anyone there?" Her ears were met with silence and then she heard another sniff as if someone was crying. Ella bent over, checking to see if there were feet under the stall door, and sure enough there was. "Are you alright?"

"Yes," A shaky voice answered her. "I'm quite alright, thank you."

But Ella knew that voice. "...Hermione is that you?" Hermione and Ella had gotten to know each other a bit since the start of term. Ella spent quite a lot of time in the library with Juni doing homework, and evidently Hermione liked the library a great deal as well. Ella approached the door and checked to see if it was unlocked. But, of course, it wasn't.

"Hermione, please let me in."

"No," Hermione said stubbornly, "I told you, I'm fine."

Ella rapped her knuckles on the door lightly. "Please, Hermione. I want to help."

"Well, I want to be left alone!"

Ella sighed and pulled her wands out from her robes. She pointed her wand at the door and said, "Alohomora" and the lock came undone. Ella pushed the door open and saw Hermione sitting in the stall, tear stains apparent on her cheeks. Empathy flooded Ella's heart. "Oh Hermione, what happened?"

More tears escaped down Hermione's cheeks and she wiped them away with the sleeve of her robe. "Nothing, nothing happened."

Ella sighed once more and sat on the floor in front of Hermione, her back resting against the frame of the stall. "Come on, you can tell me. Us bookworms have got to stick together," Ella said with a playful nudge to Hermione's leg.

A small smile broke its way through Hermione's sullen expression. She opened her mouth to tell Ella what had happened but her eyes filled with tears again and she snapped her mouth shut. She turned her face away from Ella and said quietly, "He — he called me a nightmare."

"Who called you a nightmare?"

Hermione crossed her arms and inverted herself even more. "Ronald Weasley," she said.

Ella's jaw dropped. "Ronald Weasley? Fred and George little brother, Ron Weasley? Why on earth would he ever say such a thing to you? You're not a nightmare!"

Hermione gave another great sniff and wiped at her eyes. "He finds me annoying!" She said in almost a sob. "I corrected him in Charms, I was just trying to help, and he called me a nightmare." She wiped at her eyes furiously. "And they make fun of me for always being in the library and being too eager in class and following the rules and —"

Ella held up her hands and hushed the younger girl. "Who is they?"

"Everyone!" Hermione wailed. "No one likes me! I have no friends! It's always been that way, even in Muggle school. But I thought that maybe here it would be different…"

Ella scrambled up from the floor and wrapped her arms around the first year girl, letting her cry onto her robes. But Ella couldn't care less if she had tear stains on her sweater, she just wanted to console Hermione. "It is different here, Hermione," she said. "You do have friends, you have me and Juni! And I'm more than certain that Cho and Katie would be more than happy to be friends with you."

"But those are your friends!" Hermione cried. "I want my own friends and I can never seem to make them."

"Maybe not yet," Ella said. "But you'll find people that appreciate you just as you are, I promise. And you'll always have me, okay?" Hermione nodded. Ella let go of her and squatted down in front of Hermione so that they were almost eye to eye. "And if Ron Weasley ever says anything like that about you again, you just let me know, alright? I'll take care of it. I'm very good friends with his brothers, Fred and George, you know. They'd be more than happy to help me get him back," Ella told her with a big smile.

Hermione laughed slightly and nodded. "Thank you, Ella." The bell sounded and Hermione looked absolutely terrified. "Oh no! You'll be late for you class!"

Ella got up once again and brushed off her robes. She moved back over to sink and grabbed her bag. "It's alright, I'm sure Professor McGonagall will understand if I give her a good enough excuse."

"Lie to a teacher?" Hermione asked her incredulously.

Ella laughed and paused before she walked out of the door. "Don't tell anyone I told you this, because Fred and George will never let me hear the end of it, but some rules have to be bent sometimes. This was worth it." Ella gave her another warm smile. "Don't let stupid boys get you down." And Ella left the bathroom to go to her Transfiguration class, thinking of an elaborate excuse as to why she was late.

Later that night at dinner, people were wondering why Hermione wasn't there. Ella heard Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil saying that she had been in the girls' bathroom all afternoon and didn't want to be bothered. Ella shot daggers at Ron with her eyes and he looked very uncomfortable, which pleased Ella greatly.

She didn't stay angry for too long though. She was quite busy with looking at the intricate Halloween decorations around the Great Hall. There were real live bats everywhere and the floating candles had been replaced with floating Jack-o-lanterns. Ella loved Halloween so much, it was one of her favorite holidays. And she hated to admit it, but she was looking forward to seeing if Fred and George had any Halloween themed pranks up their sleeves. When Ella had asked them about it they just sniggered and told her not to worry about it, which made her a little anxious.

"I don't see why you won't just tell me!" Ella said angrily.

Lee Jordan laughed from the far side of the twins. "I don't see why you keep badgering them about it! They aren't going to tell you."

"If you do," Fred said, "we might just have to make you the butt of the pranks."

That shut Ella up.

Then Professor Quirrell shot into the hall looking more terrified than Ella had ever seen him, and that was saying something. Everyone's eyes were glued to him as he scrambled up to Dumbledore and said, "Troll — in the dungeons — thought you ought to know." And then he passed out in a dead faint.

The hall went absolutely insane, people screaming and scrambling around. It wasn't until Professor Dumbledore shot sparks out of his that everyone found enough sense to calm down. Dumbledore ordered the Prefects to take all the students back to their dormitories. Ella didn't have to be told twice. She got up front the table quickly, extremely anxious to get to the safety of her dorm.

Before they could leave the hall Ella found Juni. "Be careful, it's by your dorms," Ella told her.

Juni nodded at her, Ella could tell that she was scared. "I will be." Juniper left to go join her other friends, some of the nicer students of Slytherin house. Ella left with Katie and they clung together as if they were bound at the hips.

Percy led them to the Gryffindor dormitories and the boys and girls all filed up to their rooms. When they got up to their dorm Ella was surprised to find that there was food in the room! It seemed as though they were to continue eating in their dormitories. And that's exactly what they did.

Ella, Katie, Alicia, Angelina, Lavender, and Parvati all gathered in the third year girls' dorms and indulged themselves in mostly desserts. Katie was throwing grapes into Ella's mouth from across the room and they were all having a wonderful time despite the twelve foot troll roaming around their school.

When that thought entered her mind, Ella choked on the grape in her mouth. She continued to cough and hack until her face was red and there were tears in her eyes.

"What the hell, Ella?" Angelina asked her, rolling with laughter. "You alright?"

"Hermione!" Ella shouted, her eyes wild.

"What about her?" Katie said.

"She doesn't know! She doesn't know there's a troll in the castle! I have to go find her!" Ella said as she began to exist the dorm.

"No, Ella, you can't!" Parvati said, catching her arm. "You'll get in trouble!"

"I don't care! I have to go find her." She took off down the stairs.

"Ella but — the rules — what about — Ella!" Lavender sputtered after Ella as she ran down the stairs.

"Hermione is more important than the rules!" They heard Ella yell back.

Ella had made it halfway across the common room when she was intercepted by Percy. "And just where do you think you're going?" He asked her pompously. "You are not allowed out of the dormitories!"

"Watch me," Ella said as she continued to walk.

Percy was so shocked at Ella that he didn't know what to say for a moment. "Stirling, I'm warning you, if you walk out of this room, it'll be a detention for you!"

"Do it, Weasley," She snarled at him as she walked out of the portrait hole and marched down the stairs. She was very pleased when Percy didn't follow her out. He probably didn't want to risk leaving his very important post.

She walked briskly and quietly through the empty corridors, trying very hard to be stealthy to avoid being caught. She was so anxious to get the the bathroom where she had seen Hermione earlier that she had broken into a full sprint. But when she arrived there, she heard voices. Oh, Merlin! It was Professor McGonagall's voice! Ella dove behind a wall and slapped a hand over her mouth to make herself completely silent as she hid. Then Ella heard Hermione's voice and she didn't think she had ever felt so relieved.

"If they hadn't found me, I'd be dead by now. Harry stuck his wand up its nose and Ron knocked it out with its own club. They didn't have time to fetch anyone. It was about to finish me off when they arrived." Harry and Ron were there? They saved her?

McGonagall continued. "Well — in that case...Miss Granger, you foolish girl, how could you think of tackling a mountain troll on your own?" Ella felt irritation flash in her veins. Hermione wasn't a foolish girl! There was no way that she had tried to take on that troll by herself. Hermione was brave, of course, but not stupid!

"Miss Granger, five points will be taken from Gryffindor for this," said Professor McGonagall. "I'm very disappointed in you. If you're not hurt at all, you'd better go off to Gryffindor tower. Students are finishing the feast in their houses."

Ella saw Hermione leave the bathroom and Ella dashed after her, careful to make sure no one saw her. "Hermione!" Ella said in a whisper.

Hermione yelped when Ella ran up beside her. "What are you doing out of the tower?" Hermione asked her.

"I came looking for you of course! But it seems like some people already beat me to the job. You didn't really try and take on that troll did you?"

Hermione scoffed. "Of course not!"

"Then why did you tell Professor McGonagall that you had?"

"Because," Hermione said, "Harry and Ron did save my life. And like you said, some rules have to bent, right?" Hermione smiled at her as they entered the common room.

As soon as they walked in Percy sprang to his feet, ready to give Ella the lecture of a lifetime.

"Thank you so much for not giving Ella a detention, Percy," Hermione said before Percy could even get a word in. "She came to find me and help me back to the common room seeing as my Prefect didn't. If I were you, I wouldn't want that getting back to Professor McGonagall." And Hermione and Ella walked right past Percy, leaving him outsmarted and speechless.

Ella had to stifle her giggles all the way up to the girls' dormitories. "Hermione," Ella said, "I think it's safe to say that you are one of the brightest girls I've ever met." And they walked right into the girls' dorms to finish their feast with the others.


	5. Moaning Myrtle's New Friend

Ella and Juni had their foreheads practically pressed together as they brewed their Sleeping Draughts. Gryffindor had double potions with Slytherin, and while most of her classmates sneered at that, Ella was overjoyed. She absolutely loved having classes with Slytherin, it was her only chance to have classes with Juni.

"I can't believe it," Ella whispered to Juni as she added two measures of Standard Ingredient to her cauldron. "How is the first Quidditch match already tomorrow? We're going to get creamed, Juni, I know it."

Juni was still waiting for her potion to finish brewing and she was absently twirling her wand in her nimble fingers. "Don't worry about it, Ella. I'm sure you'll do just fine. Wood found you guys a new Seeker right? What's there to worry about?"

"That's exactly my point! Potter's in his first year, he's never even seen a game of Quidditch in his life! I mean, yes, he's brilliant in practice but who's to say what he'll be like on the pitch during an actual match? No one knows what'll happen and I think Wood is putting way too much faith in him and —"

"It's been a minute, add your Valerian Sprigs."

"Thank you. Like I was saying, I think there's a huge possibility that he's going choke under pressure and we're going to get completely wrecked in the first match and —"

Juni's hand shot out to grab Ella's wrist. "Ella, you need to get your nerves under control. First of all, you were about to stir your cauldron counterclockwise instead of clockwise and ruin your perfect potion. Second of all, you might want to keep your voice down. Snape is starting to look over here."

Ella sighed and tugged at her red hair. She was such a brilliant young girl but her anxieties got the best of her sometimes. During her first year Transfiguration class she accidentally made a goblet spontaneously combust because she had gotten so nervous. "I know, I'm sorry. I just can't help it! You know how stressed I get." Juni hummed in agreement as she added her own Standard Ingredient to her freshly brewed potion. Ella stirred her Sleeping Draught seven times, very careful to go clockwise. "Juni, do you think this looks right?"

Juni didn't even glance up from her own cauldron. "I don't even need to look, it's perfect. You're a natural at potions, just wave your wand and finish it already."

Ella waved her wand and the liquid in her cauldron became a deep shape of indigo, Ella glanced at her Potions book to make sure that was the correction reaction and her face broke into a grin. "Brilliant," she said and ladled some of her potion into a vial to place on Snape's desk before class was let out. "You ought to hurry, Juni, class gets out in a about three minutes."

Juni's eyes shot to the clock and she let out kind of strangled squeak. She began to mix her potion very quickly and when she finished it was a lighter shade than Ella's and she groaned. That meant that it probably wouldn't be very strong. She'd be lucky if she didn't get a P for this one.

They both packed up their cauldrons and bags and began to walk to where Snape's desk was tucked away in his dark little corner. "Are you still going to ask him?" Juni asked Ella out of the corner of her mouth and they both placed their vials of Sleeping Draught in the potions rack that Snape had set up.

Ella nodded. "Yeah. If ever want to become a Healer I need be more than exceptional in Potions."

"You _are_ more than exceptional in Potions."

"I could be better," Ella said and shrugged.

Juni sighed. "Alright, if you insist." She gave Ella a squeeze on the shoulder. "Good luck." And she filed out of the room with the rest of the students.

Ella stood in front of Snape's desk and waited in silence as he scrawled on some parchment. It didn't seem like he would acknowledge her or initiate the conversation until Ella said something so she shakily cleared her throat.

"Yes, Miss Stirling?" Snape said and Ella felt that unpleasant chill run down her spine.

"I have a question, Professor Snape," Ella said timidly.

"Well do ask it quickly as to not waste any more of my time."

Ella stood in a moment of hesitation before spitting out her question, trying very hard to be polite. "I was wondering, if at all possible, if you would be able to give me Remedial Potions, Professor?"

"And what makes you think that you are entitled to Remedial Potions when your Potions skills are at the very least, average?"

Ella could feel her blood heating up. "With all due respect, Sir, I think my Potions skills are more than average and —"

Snape cut her off with a scoff. "Just like your father. Entitled and arrogant! It'll be a blessing if I get through this term with you and Potter in my classes."

"Don't you ever compare me to that man!" Ella spat at him before she could stop herself and she clamped her hand over her mouth, shocked at her own loss of control.

Snape's eyes flashed dangerously at her. "Exactly what I mean. Hot tempered, arrogant, and childish. Just like your father," he sneered at her. "Ten points from Gryffindor, Miss Stirling. Now get — out."

Ella turned on her heel and sped from the room before Snape could see the angry tears forming in her eyes. She couldn't believe that he had compared her to her scoundrel of a father. Derrick Stirling, Ella's father, had been a great man and an excellent father until Ella was around seven years old. That's when he turned to the alcohol. It consumed him completely and ruined him. There was a short period of Ella's life that was composed solely of her parents screaming and fighting before Derrick decided that he was going to leave. And he was gone. She hadn't seen him since then. She hadn't seen her father in four years, and she honestly had no desire to. She had grown to hate the man that she had once held so dearly.

* * *

Ella skipped her Transfiguration class. It was way too obvious that she had been crying for her to be comfortable with. So instead she sat on the floor of the first floor girls' lavatory with her back up against one of the outside walls of a stall. No one ever came up to this bathroom because Moaning Myrtle had a tendency to show up, but Ella didn't care. She just needed somewhere that she could be separate from her own living peers. She sniffled and wiped her runny nose on the sleeve of her rob. She stood up and looked at herself in one of the dusty mirrors and groaned at what she saw. Her eyes were puffy, her nose was red, and she had chewed her fingernails until they threatened to bleed. She looked a mess.

"Stupid," Ella muttered disdainfully to her reflection and shoved away from the sink, not wanting to look at herself anymore. Thankfully, Transfiguration was the last class on her schedule for today and she could go straight to her dormitory, make herself presentable again, and then go down to dinner and hopefully have some fun with her friends.

"What have _you_ been crying about?" Asked a shrill voice and Ella let out a small scream of surprise as she whipped around to see who was in the bathroom with her. Of course, it was Moaning Myrtle.

Ella hardened her face, a knee jerk reaction. Although she doubted that she looked very threatening. "What's it to you?"

Myrtle looked highly offended. "Well, excuse me for trying to help! Next time you want to act like a blubbering mess don't come into _my_ bathroom and then snap at me for being nice!"

"Wait!" Ella said before Myrtle could delve back into the pipes. "I'm sorry, I'm just upset. I didn't mean to snap at you." Myrtle was right, she was just trying to be kind.

Myrtle stopped right before she could disappear into her toilet. She turned her head over her transparent shoulder. "So, are you going to be sour with me if ask you what happened again?"

"No, I promise."

Myrtle floated back over to Ella. "Well, go on then. Tell me."

Ella sighed and sauntered back over to where she had been sitting previously and sank to the ground. She couldn't believe she was about to divulge her life story to a ghost in an abandoned bathroom. "Well, I asked Professor Snape if he could give me Remedial Potions lessons for extra practice and he said no. Then he called me entitled and arrogant when I tried to persuade him." Ella was bending the truth and she knew it. She turned her head away from Myrtle and she felt tears burning in her eyes again. "He compared me to my father," She said scornfully.

"And that's a bad thing?" Myrtle asked her, now resting a few inches above the floor in front of Ella.

"Yes," Ella hissed and wiped her eyes before she could start crying again. "My father was a bastard and a coward. I hate him. Drinking was more important to him than his own family. Being compared to him is one of the worst things I can think of. It's bad enough that I look like him, I don't need snobs like Snape reminding me that I come from that miserable slag of a man."

Myrtle hovered in a silence for a moment. When she had seen Ella dash into her bathroom she had originally felt no sympathy for her. Ella was alive and beautiful, two things that Myrtle was not. But upon hearing Ella's apology and her heartfelt story, that changed. Myrtle's resentment for Ella partially melted away. "I'm sorry to hear that," she told Ella quietly. She decided to change the subject. "Why would you want to spend more time with Snape anyways?"

Ella chuckled lightly. "I don't. But I want to be a Healer when I'm older and you need to get a N.E.W.T in order to do that so I need to excel in Potions."

An idea struck Myrtle suddenly, an odd idea, but an idea nonetheless. "Well, if you want extra Potions practice, you could come in here and do it. No one ever comes in here. No one would ever know. And I could help you!" Myrtle wasn't always this sociable, but she saw potential in Ella for a possible friend of sorts, something that Myrtle had never had.

"You could help me?" Ella asked skeptically.

"Yes!" Myrtle said eagerly. "I was fairly good at it when I was alive, Potions, I mean. And no one would ever know!"

"Well…" Ella pondered the idea, "I do want the extra Potions practice and if Snape isn't going to help me then I guess I'll have to help myself." Ella smiled at Myrtle. "You have a deal, Myrtle."

Myrtle clapped her ghostly handed together and squealed, making Ella cringe. "Excellent! We can meet here on Fridays after dinner! This is going to be fun — oh! I don't even know your name."

Ella stood and grabbed her bag, making to leave. "It's Ella, Ella stirling. I already know your name, obviously," she said with an awkward smile. "Well, thank you, Myrtle. I'll see you next Friday, I suppose."

"Yes! I'll see you next week! Feel free to come visit me anytime!" Myrtle called after Ella as she walked out of the bathroom.

"For sure!" Ella said over her shoulder as she left. When she was further down the corridor she blew out a big sigh. Had she really just agreed to practicing Potions with Moaning Myrtle? And on a weekly basis, nonetheless. What on earth had she gotten herself into?


	6. The First Quidditch Match

"Okay, men," Oliver said after gaining the attention of the team.

"And women, "Angelina said and Katie, Ella, and Alicia puffed their chests up with pride.

"And women," Oliver agreed. "This is it."

"The big one," said Fred.

"The one we've all been waiting for," said George.

"We know Oliver's speech by heart," Fred told Harry as Ella smacked George on the chest, even though she was trying not to laugh, "we were on the team last year."

"Shut up, you two," said Oliver. "This is the best team Gryffindor's had in years. We're going to win. I know it."

He shot them all a glare as if to say, "Or else." Ella felt the butterflies in her stomach begin to flutter even harder than they already were.

"Right. It's time. Good luck, all of you."

Ella walked with the rest of team, sandwiched between Fred and George, Katie's arm was stretched behind her, her hand in Ella's, and Harry followed all of them closely. "Hey," George said and nudged her, "loosen up a bit, Ellie. Everything's gonna be fine."

"Yeah," Fred agreed. "You'll do great." He offered her a warm smile. This was the side of the Weasley twins that Ella really adored. They were such sweethearts but they would never admit that to anyone. Ella was mentally kicking herself. Karma had come back around to bite her for doubting Harry's abilities as a Seeker. Perhaps he wouldn't be the one to choke, perhaps it would be her. The team stepped out onto the field, greeted by Madam Hooch and the opposing team, Slytherin.

"Now, I want a nice fair game, all of you," Madam Hooch said, but Ella had a sneaking suspicion that she was speaking more to the Slytherin Captain, Marcus Flint, than to anyone else. Ella saw Juni in the stands as she scanned the crowd. She was not on the Slytherin side, but rather on the Gryffindor side, and Ella felt her heart swell. Hermione had made a flag that had a large heart on it with "Ella" written in the middle of it, in addition to the "Potter for President" banner that she had helped Dean Thomas make. Ella felt her nerves drifting away every so slightly, maybe this wouldn't be that bad after all.

"Mount your brooms, please," Madam Hooch said.

Ella swung her legs over her Cleansweep Six and braced for takeoff.

A shrill roar came from Madam Hooch's whistle and fifteen brooms soared into the air. The match had begun.

"And the Quaffle is taken immediately by Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor — what an excellent Chaser that girl is, and rather attractive, too —"

"JORDAN!"

"Sorry, Professor."

Fred and George's best friend, Lee Jordan, was providing the commentary for the match, although he was being watched closely by Professor Mcgonagall. Ella had gotten quite close with Lee, as well, but she was paying absolutely no attention to what he was saying. She was too focused on the game.

"And she's really belting along up there, a neat pass to Donella Stirling, a good find of Oliver Wood's, only in her second year — back to Johnson — no, the Slytherins have taken the Quaffle, Slytherin Captain Marcus Flint gains the Quaffle and off he goes — Flint flying like an eagle up there — he's going to sc- no, stopped by an excellent move by Gryffindor Keeper Wood and the Gryffindors take the Quaffle — that's Chaser Katie Bell of Gryffindor there, nice dive around Flint, off up the field and — OUCH — that must have hurt, hit in the back of the head by a Bludger —"

Ella focus was shaken briefly when she heard that Katie had been hit by a Bludger. But she shook it off quickly, Katie and her had a pact to never throw a game if something happened to the other. So Ella occupied herself with zooming around the field, weaving in and out of other players to try and obtain the Quaffle.

George had knocked a Bludger into Adrian Pucey after he had taken the Quaffle. Lee had said that you couldn't tell which Weasley twin was which on the pitch, but Ella knew for sure that it was George. She could tell those two apart better than their own mother. Angelina got the Quaffle once more and Ella sped to defend her and prevent Slytherin from taking it away from them again. They were getting closer, there was the window, and — YES! Angelina had scored! An uproar came from the Gryffindor stands and Ella could feel her heart hammering in her throat.

She was flying after Adrian Pucey once more, hoping that she could snag the Quaffle from him. But all of the Chasers seemed to forget what they were supposed to be doing as the Snitch was spotted, all of them except for Ella. Pucey had dropped the Quaffle and Ella snatched it right out from under his nose. Before anyone could figure out what she was doing, she took off towards the goal posts. Half of the players on the pitch soared after her, the other half going towards Harry and Terrence Higgs, the Slytherin Seeker, and their pursuit of the Snitch.

The Slytherin Keeper, the big oaf, was too distracted with watching Harry and Higgs dive after the Snitch that Ella was able to easily score a goal through the center post. Ella had never felt such an adrenaline rush like this in all of her life. But, to her dismay, no one had been paying attention to her achievement, not even Lee. Everyone was too occupied by Flint cutting off Harry and causing his broom to spin out of control. Madam Hooch called for a penalty shot for Gryffindor and Wood gave it to Ella. Apparently, someone did see her put that goal away. Ella could barely hear Lee's commentary over the thumping of her own heart in her ears.

"So — after that obvious and disgusting bit of cheating —"

Professor McGonagall snarled at him, "Jordan!"

"I mean, after that open and revolting foul —"

"Jordan, I'm warning you —"

"All right, all right. Flint nearly kills the Gryffindor Seeker, which could happen to anyone, I'm sure, so a penalty to Gryffindor, taken by Stirling, who puts it away, no trouble, and we continue to play, Gryffindor still in possession."

The game continued on without a moment's hesitation and Ella couldn't recall a time where she had ever felt this focused. The only time her focus broke was when a Bludger hit Flint straight in the nose and Ella guffawed out loud. She received two stern glances from Madam Hooch and Professor McGonagall, so she clamped her mouth shut and continued to play. The match seemed to be going smoothly with Gryffindor in the lead until Ella noticed the crowd beginning to gawk and gasp at something. Ella followed their gaze and her jaw dropped. Harry's broom was flinging him around like a ragdoll, he was barely hanging on by one hand. Fred and George were trying desperately to pull him onto one of their brooms, but every time they tried the broom would just lurch higher in the air. They took to circling below him, most likely plotting to catch him if his grip slipped from the broom.

Ella groaned as Flint seized the Quaffle. Without Fred and George to help them defend, Flint scored fives times. The crowd didn't notice but the Gryffindor Chasers and Wood certainly did. Just as Ella was about to yell out to Harry to just jump from the broom, it was probably the safer option at this point, he stopped struggling and was able to gain back control of his broom.

Ella yelped in excitement and thrust one of her fists in the air. Then, all of a sudden, Harry was plummeting down towards the ground on his broom. Ella was confused for a mere second and then it clicked in her brain. "He's seen it," She whispered to herself and watched with deadly precision as Harry then threw himself onto to the field with his hand clapped to his mouth. Ella felt disappointment flare in her chest. He hadn't seen the Snitch, he just needed to vomit. Then he coughed and something gold fell into his hands. Ella's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates.

"I've got the Snitch!" Harry shouted as he waved it above his head, a beaming smile on his face. The game was ended in utter confusion. But the Gryffindors didn't care, they had won the first match of the season!

"B-but he didn't catch it, he nearly swallowed it," Flint blubbered to Madam Hooch, who paid him no attention. Students were flooding onto the field, mostly Gryffindors, to congratulate the team. But Harry was being carted away by Hagrid, Hermione, and Fred and George's little brother, Ron.

Ella's feet landed on the ground and she did the first thing that struck her mind, she threw herself into George Weasley's arms. Her arms wound around his neck, his linking around her waist and squeezing her, lifting her off her feet. "We won!" She squealed happily. "We won my first match!"

"I know!" George said, just as ecstatic as Ella was. A few moments passed before they realized what they were doing and they quickly released each other. Ella flushed red and George patted her on the shoulder. "Good job on your first match, Ellie."

Ella was so consumed with glee that she didn't even get upset when he called her Ellie. She nearly had a heart attack, though, when someone hurled themselves onto her from behind. It was Juni, she had finally shoved her was through the crowd. "Ella! I'm so proud of you! You did so great! I saw you score that goal when Flint blocked Harry."

Ella turned around and hugged Juni properly. "Thank you, Juni. It means a lot that you sat on the Gryffindor side. Aren't you going to get the mickey taken out of you for that?"

Juni shrugged. "I could care less." Her and Ella dissolved into laughed and hugged once more. After Ella went back to the locker rooms with the rest of the team and changed she walked back up to the castle with Juni and Katie. They laughed and regaled about Katie and Ella's first Quidditch match and how they hoped the rest of the season would follow this pattern. Katie and Ella parted ways with Juni to go to the after party in their common room and when they arrived they were greeted with Butterbeer, candies, streamers, banners, and much more. Ella had been around for Quidditch after parties last year, but she had never been on the receiving end of one.

Ella couldn't stop smiling even if she tried. She spent the rest of the night with Fred and George, Katie, Angelina, Alicia, and Lee, laughing, eating, and playing games with her newfound clique. As far as Ella was concerned, aside from the absence of Juni, this was as good as it could get.


	7. A Change of Heart

Fred and George lurched backward, shielding themselves in surprise as Ella set down a sack of Dungbombs in front of them on the table they were sitting at in the Gryffindor common room. "Oh, come off it," Ella said and rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to use them on you." She pulled out a chair across from them and sat down. "I need your help."

"Our help?" George asked her, eyeing the bag of Dungbombs warily. "What could you possibly need our help with?" Ella's eyes rolled again, she had said that to Fred and George countless times before, of course, he would throw it back at her.

"And where did you get all these?" Fred asked her, peeking into the bag and spotting seven or eight Dungbombs. "You aren't in your third year yet, you couldn't have possibly gone to Hogsmeade."

"Of course, I didn't," Ella said. "I had Angelina pick them up for me this morning on the Hogsmeade trip. But," she continued hesitantly, "I can't really use them unless I have help from you two."

"Oh?" Fred said and leaned back in his chair, tipping it back onto its hind legs and crossing his arms. "And what exactly did you have in mind?"

Ella bit her lip and fought the urge to adjust her glasses. She had never done anything like this before and she was a tad bit nervous. "I...need you to help me break into Filch's office."

George choked on the Pumpkin juice that he had been drinking and Fred was beating him on the back as he sputtered and coughed, apparently finding it rather amusing. He calmed down and shoved Fred's hand away, looking back at Ella dumbfounded. "I'm sorry, say that again, please."

For the third time in only a few short minutes, Ella's eyes rolled. "I need you to help me break into Filch's office."

"Why would a person who holds the rules so near and dear to their heart, like you, want to break into Filch's office?"

Ella sighed and rested her elbows on the table, her head falling into her hands. She yanked her hair out of the ponytail it was in and tugged at the roots. "Because," she said irritatedly, "he stole all my bloody Potions equipment."

"He stole your Potions equipment?" Fred said incredulously, his eyebrows raised.

"Confiscated it, actually."

"Hold on," George said and leaned forward in his seat. "Why did Filch confiscate your things?"

"You know, you really are pieces of work, you two. Whenever you need my help you want it to be completely no questions asked, but when I need your help it's just question after question after ques-"

Fred held up his hand. "Ellie, if you just tell, maybe we'll actually help you out."

"But you can't really blame us, can you?" George said with a grin. "I mean, you aren't exactly the rebellious type. You had to suspect that we'd be curious."

"I suppose," Ella said, leaning forward over the table and lowering her voice, "If you really must know, I was brewing a potion in the first floor girls' bathroom, you know, the one that's basically shut down."

"Why were you —" George tried to cut in.

"I'm getting there," Ella continued, glaring at George. Fred sniggered. "I was just practicing. I wasn't going to use it for anything bad. I wasn't even testing it on other people, I was going to test it on myself. I had Myrtle standing by with a Bezoar and everything."

"You mean Moaning Myrtle?"

Ella grunted in annoyance. "Yes, I mean Moaning Myrtle. Now, will you two please let me finish my story?" When they nodded at her she continued, "But I didn't even get to that stage of the potion. Mrs. Norris somehow wormed her way into the bathroom and when I spotted her I started cleaning up, but she ran off and then Filch busted in before I could get everything sorted. He started yelling at me and then took all of my things. He didn't say anything to McGonagall or Dumbledore it seems like." Her face screwed up in anger and she blew out of her nose angrily, similar to a little bull. "That man, he's so stupid. I don't know why he has this illusion that he has any sort of power in this school, but I'd like to be the one who sets him straight."

Fred and George were intrigued, to say the least. This was Ella they were talking about. The girl that stuck up her nose and walked away at the very notion of the twins dragging her into any trouble. And now, here she was, asking for help with breaking into Filch's office. They were going help her, of course. They were always up for pulling a fast one over Filch. But they weren't going to let her know that so easily. They couldn't help it. She was fun to toy with.

"Alright," Fred said. "Maybe we can lend you a hand." He smirked when Ella's face lit up. "But," Ella's face drooped again, "you have to us why you were practicing potions. In a bathroom with Moaning Myrtle, nonetheless."

Ella groaned and proceeded to pull at her hair. "No. I know exactly what you're going to say if I tell you."

"C'mon, Donnie," George said. He bit his lip to keep from laughing when her eyes flashed angrily when he called her by that nickname. "If you just tell us we'll help you and then we can put this whole thing behind us."

Ella sat there glaring at them, hoping that if she stayed silent for long enough that they would drop it. She was wrong. They stared right back at her, waiting for her answer. She heaved a great sigh. "Fine! I was practicing on my own because Snape refused to give me Remedial Potions lessons, so I just decided to do it myself. And before you ask, I wanted Remedial Potions because if I ever want to be a Healer someday then I have to excel at Potions."

The twins went from looking at Ella, to looking at each other, then back to her. "You've got to be kidding," they said in unison.

"What do you mean?"

"What we mean is," George said, "that you already excel in Potions. More than just Potions, actually. You're near flawless in almost all of your classes. You're only in your second year and you're already better than some kids who are in their fifth year."

"And what do you want to be a healer for anyway?" Fred asked her. "You're brilliant, Ella, honestly. You could do so much more with that talent than dote over people in St. Mungo's."

Color flooded to Ella's face and she pretended to clean her glasses so they wouldn't see. "Okay, so I pay attention in class. So what?"

"Oh please, Ella," Fred said. "Paying attention doesn't have anything to do with raw talent." He glanced at his brother. "We would know."

Ella tried to keep the smile off of her face but she just couldn't. Despite being the amazingly intelligent girl that she was, Ella was extremely humble. But the validation was definitely nice. "Well, I can't excel in Potions anymore if I haven't got any of my equipment, now, can I? So, what do you say? Are you in?"

Fred and George exchanged looks, communicating wordlessly as they tended to do, they snapped their heads to Ella with identical grins and said, "We're in."

Ella let out a sigh of relief and let an effortless smile spread across her face. "Excellent! So, how are we going to do this?" She could see the gear turning in their heads.

"Fred," George said, "can you go check and see if anyone is up in the dorm?"

"On it," Fred said and dashed up the stairs to the boys dormitory.

"What's he doing that for?"

"We have to make sure the coast is clear don't we? You're about to see something very special." George smiled at her so mischievously that it made her stomach churn. In a pleasant way though.

Lee Jordan came down the stairs and Fred's head appeared around the corner at the top and he waved them over. "Let's go," George said and snatched the bag of Dungbombs. Ella followed him tentatively towards the stairs to the boys dorms.

But before she could get there, someone grabbed her arm. It was Katie. "Hey, what are you guys doing? It's almost nine, we have to be in our dorms by ten." Ella looked at Katie with a glint in her eyes that Katie had never seen before. "What are you up to?" She asked her quietly.

Ella smiled and bit her lip. "Honestly, I really don't know." And then she walked briskly across the common room and up the stairs to the boys dormitory with Fred and George.

Katie leaned back in her plush armchair and pondered whatever it was that the three of them could be doing. Whatever it was, it probably wasn't good. For Ella, at least. "They're a bad influence on her," Katie said to Angelina.

Angelina chuckled. "Hardly. First of all, it was her idea. Second, of all, I'm the one who picked up the Dungbombs from Zonko's for her. If anything, I'd say I'm the bad influence here for encouraging her behavior."

Katie's eyebrows shot up. "What do you mean? What was her idea?"

"Well," Angelina said, "if Ella hasn't told you yet then it's not my place to say."

"But they're going to get her in trouble!"

"No, they aren't," Lee Jordan said, who was sitting with his back against the bottom of the couch that Angelina and Alicia were sitting on. "They hardly ever get caught. And they're just busting into Filch's office, that's like child's play for them."

"They're what?" Katie yelled.

Angelina smacked Lee on the shoulder before shushing Katie. "Katie, there are other people in the common room, try to keep it down. And nice going Lee, will you ever learn to keep your mouth shut?"

"I will if you go out with me," Lee said and beamed at Angelina.

Angelina just smiled and rolled her eyes, gathering up her books and getting up from the couch. "Well, I'm going to bed. See you all in the morning."

Katie absentmindedly said goodnight to Angelina, but she was more concerned about Ella. Even though they'd only known each other for about a year now, Ella was one of Katie's best friends, and she had never been a fan of breaking the rules. And now she was off plotting with Fred and George Weasley and a sack of Dungbombs. It worried her, she really didn't want Ella to do anything she would regret. But she wasn't going to try and stop her. Once Ella had decided to do something, there was really no stopping her. Besides, Katie had seen a look in Ella's eyes that she had never seen before. She looked almost as excited as she did after they had won their first Quidditch game.

Later that night, while Katie was climbing into bed, Ella was sneaking out of the common room with Fred and George. She had never done anything like this before and her stomach was tying itself in knots. But, despite that, she wasn't turning back. Fred and George led her through hallways and secret passageways, their noses shoved into some mysterious map that they had. Ella was curious as to what it was, but she remained silent, afraid that even the smallest peep would get them caught. But even in light of her nerves, she already had adrenaline coursing through her veins for some reason. She was starting to understand why the twins enjoyed breaking the rules so much. They hadn't even done anything yet and she was already feeling exhilarated.

They were walking through a dark and dingy passageway until they came to a dead end. "Alright," George said and shot her an excited grin. "Here we are."


	8. The Corruption Begins

"Guys," Ella whispered, "where are we?"

Fred smiled at her. "We're right outside of Filch's office, and if we're lucky, he won't be in there. What time is it, Ella?"

"It's just about ten."

The twins grinned. "Perfect," they said together. Fred and George pressed their backs up against the wall and George pulled Ella along with them. "Dragon Bogies," Fred said very clearly, and the slab of bricks that they were standing against began to rotate, leading them into Filch's office. Ella was holding her breath the whole time.

All three of their heads whipped around the office searching for any sign of Filch. When they saw none, they all let out a sigh of relief. They began to sort through Filch's office, hunting for Ella's Potions equipment. They had to get it back by tonight. If not, Snape would definitely dock more points from Gryffindor than anyone could ever imagine for Ella not being prepared for class.

Ella shuffled through piles of junk looking for her bag of Potions equipment. "Ugh, this place is disgusting," Ella said as she swiped her finger through some thick dust that was resting on a mirror. "Is this supposed to be a mirror? Because I think it would take years of scrubbing to ever be able to see a reflection in this."

"Hey" Fred said, "you wanna focus, Ellie? The faster we find your things, the faster we can get out of here."

"Yeah," George agreed. "Was it all in that bag that you have with all the embroidered flowers on it?" He asked as he carelessly threw things around, searching for Ella's things.

Ella was surprised that he had even noticed something like that. "Yes," She said skeptically. "How do you know what I keep my Potions equipment in?"

George shrugged. "You make such a big deal about hauling around way more Potions ingredients than you need and you always have that extra bag with you. How could I not notice it?"

"I do not make a big deal out of it!" Ella groaned as she rolled her eyes and placed her hands firmly on her hips.

"Oh please, yes you do. You're always whining about how much your back hurts and how much your shoulders hurt because you lug all that extra stuff around. But you never do anything about it. Why don't you chill out with the Potions for once?"

"Because I'm actually trying to do something with my life, George Weasley!"

"Hey, lovebirds!" Fred snapped jokingly at them. "Can you two stop beating a dead Hippogriff and actually help me find this stuff so I can get out of the company of you two?"

Ella and George both blushed and started protesting the fact that Fred has called them "lovebirds." But Fred just waved them off and made them keep looking for Ella's bag. Ella and George hardly even looked at each other for the next ten minutes, they were both so stubborn.

"Hey, Ellie," Fred said questioningly.

"It's Ella," Ella snapped, "And what?"

"Is your bag black?"

"Yes," Ella said, a smile growing on her face.

"And it has red roses stitched on it, yes?"

"Yes," Ella said again, she could feel relief building up inside of her.

"Oh," Fred said disappointedly. "Well, in that case, I don't have it. Sorry." Fred laughed when anger flashed in Ella's eyes. She hurled a book at his head and he ducked just in time for it to skim over the top of his red hair. "Oi! What was that for?"

"You arsehole, Fredrick Weasley! I really need that bag! Could you take something seriously for once in your life?"

"Hey," George said from behind her. "Maybe you'd want to turn around and see why Fred was yanking your wand." Ella whipped around furiously and saw George standing there with Ella's bag dangling from his hand, a proud smirk on his face.

In that moment Ella forgot about how upset she had been with either of the twins and rushed over to George. She wrapped her arms around his torso and nearly squeezed the life out of him, then snatched her Potions bag and did the same to it. "Oh, thank you!" Ella swooned. "Thank you thank you thank you!" Ella stood on her toes and kissed George on the cheek before rushing over to Fred and doing the same to him. "Really, thank you. And I'm sorry for being hot headed."

George rubbed his cheek gently where her lips had touched it and narrowed his eyes at her. "You know, I don't understand you. One second you're berating us and the next second, you're kissing us. Girls are mental, I swear."

"That is an incredibly sexist thing to say, and a very generalizing statement. Please, do me a favor and never say that to me again," Ella deadpanned to him.

"Ooh, only twelve years old and so wise already," Fred said as she ruffled her hair.

"Oh, shut it!" Ella said and shoved Fred into an old stack of furniture. "Now, let's do what we came here for and get out of this dump."

"Okay," Fred said. "But we must warn you, this is your last chance to back out."

Ella rolled her eyes. "Look, I'm not that big of a baby. We're going through with this."

"Alright, if you say no," Fred said with a shrug. "George, if you would, please."

George pulled out his wand and performed the Bubble Head Charm on himself and Ella, Fred doing the same on himself and Ella looked at them in astonishment. The Bubble Head charm was a bit of advanced magic for just a third year.

"What?" George asked. "You aren't the only one here with talent, you know."

Ella rolled her eyes again, something that the twins had basically turned into a pastime for her. She reached into her bag and pulled out the Dungbombs. "So," she said a bit nervously, "what exactly do we do with these?"

"You mean to tell me that you've never used a Dungbomb before?" Fred said incredulously.

"Well, my grandmother got one for Jackson when we were younger and he dropped it in the middle of Diagon Alley. Grandma apparated us out of the immediately." A small smile played out on Ella's lips as she recalled the memory.

"Alright, then," George said. "You've got the basic idea. Now, come on." He pulled Ella back to the secret entrance with him and Fred. "Try and throw them as far away from us as we can so we have time to get out with without being coated in the stuff."

"And don't worry," Fred added, "the stench will cover the whole place. We've got what? Three each? We'll be totally fine."

"Ready?" George asked her with a malicious grin. Ella nodded. "Okay, on my count. One — two — THREE!" George hurled all three of his away at the same time and they landed somewhere across the room. Fred tossed his strategically in all different directions and Ella threw hers haphazardly, rushing back into the secret passageway. She slammed her back against the wall and collapsed into a fit of giggles.

Fred and George followed her quickly, sealing the exit behind them. Only a faint hint of the stink of the Dungbombs had followed them out, but nothing that a quick shower couldn't fix. The looked at Ella with shocked expressions on their faces. Granted, they had a great time wreaking havoc, but they had never seen a reaction like this. Ella seemed hysterical.

"Uh, Ella?" Fred said hesitantly. "You alright there?"

"Yeah," Ella gasped, wiping tears from her eyes. "I'm sorry, I've just never done anything like that before." She took a moment to collect herself so she could speak without laughing. "Does it usually feel like this?" She asked excitedly as they made their way through the secret passageway.

"I mean," Fred said, "I suppose it does. You're acting as if this is the best thing that's ever happened to you, though. It's a bit odd if I'm being honest."

"I'm sorry," Ella apologized again. "I just feel so alive!"

George laughed. "Alright, calm it down there, Ellie, or we'll have to send you off to Azkaban. You might just be too bad for Freddie and I."

Ella rolled her eyes, but in a fond way this time. She wrapped her fingers around the strap of her Potions bag and squeezed it affectionately. "You're such a git," She said lightly. "Thank you for helping me get this back, really. Both of you, thank you."

Fred swung his arm over her shoulders and George did the same on the other side. "No problem, Ellie. You're one of our favorite people in this school. But if you ever tell anyone I said that, we're denying the whole thing," Fred said and Ella laughed.

"But," Ella said, nervously biting her lip, "what if Filch notices that my bag is gone? He'll have to know it was us."

George shrugged carelessly. "What can he do? He has no proof that we were ever in there."

"But who else would let off Dungbombs in his office and take my Potions bag."

"Hey," Fred said comfortingly, "if he suspects anyone, he'll suspect that it was us."

"Exactly! I don't want you guys to get in trouble either."

"Like I said," George said, "he has absolutely no proof that we were ever in there. If he did, Fred and I would be in detention a lot more than we are."

"Right," Ella said, more to herself than anyone else, "it's not like he has surveillance cameras in there or something."

"What?" George asked her.

Ella waved it off. "Sorry, Muggle thing."

"You're so weird. Just like our dad," Fred said. "I don't get why you're so into Muggles. They aren't all that cool."

"Oh, they're fascinating! The things they can accomplish without magic is really amazing. Their technology is really very useful sometimes too, we could probably benefit from it."

"Yeah, okay," George said as if he didn't believe her. "I think I'll stick with magic."

They snuck through the secret passageways of Hogwarts, bickering about why or why not Muggles were interesting. Ella seemed to think they were the living end, but Fred and George were bored with them. They could do magic! They doubted that a television, whatever that was, could be more fun than that. They slipped into the common room quietly and the three of them collapsed on one of the overstuffed couches, relieved that their plan had worked out in their favor.

"Well," Ella said after a few minutes, "I'm going to have a shower and then I'm going to bed. It's already way past curfew. Thank you, again, it really does mean a lot to me." She stood up and kissed both of them on the cheek before taking off towards the girls' showers and dormitories. George blushed after her lips had touched his cheek once again.

After Ella was out of earshot Free turned to his brother. "You like her."

"What?" George said. "I do not! Why would you even think that?"

"Are you kidding? It's so obvious."

"It is not!" George said defensively. "There's not even anything to be obvious about. How could I like Ella? She's like, a baby."

"We're only a year older than she is," Fred said while smirking. "And why are you getting so defensive? It was just an observation."

"A, I'm not being defensive. B, it was not an observation, it was an accusation."

"Merlin, you are so dramatic," Fred said as he got up and started to walk up the stairs to the boys' dormitory.

"Yeah, and you're mental if you think I actually like Ella."

"Hey," Fred said, "I like Ella too. But, you like like her."

George threw a pillow at him when they got up to the dormitory. "Shut up! I do not!"

"Then why are you getting so bloody defensive?"

"I'm not!"

"You definitely do like her and you definitely are being defensive," Lee Jordan said sleepily from his bed. "Now can the two of you please shut up and go shower? You stink."

Fred beamed at his brother. He was obviously not the only one who thought that George liked Ella. And he grabbed his lavatory things and headed down to the showers.

* * *

When Ella had gotten back to her dormitory she sat on the edge of her bed, wringing her ginger hair out with a towel. She eyed her Potions bag on her trunk happily. It really did mean the world to her that Fred and George had helped her get it back. Also, that they had been so eager to help her get revenge on Filch and do it in such a way that wouldn't get them caught. It had honestly been one of the most exhilarating nights in her life so far, and part of her hated that. Firstly, because she had been to hysterical and excited about something that was probably child's play for Fred and George. Secondly, because she had enjoyed herself so much. It was so different from how she normally functioned. Breaking the rules so drastically had always made her so nervous, but she really threw caution to the wind on this night.

Her passion for Potions and the fact that Filch had taken her things away from her had severely outweighed her need to obey the rules. It made her nervous. Not just because she had enjoyed herself so much, but because it felt borderline addictive to her. She was already excited for the next time that Fred and George asked her for help. And this time, she wouldn't reject them. This was all so new and exciting for her, she couldn't wait to tell Jackson.


	9. Juni's Secret

Ella awoke on the twenty-third of December, 1991, with her best friend, Juni, jumping onto her bed and shaking her awake. "Ella! Ella, wake up! It's your birthday!"

"How did you even get in here?" Ella groaned and pulled the blankets over her head.

"Your brother let me in," Juni said as she plopped herself down next to Ella. "Your mom is still trying to get our fireplaces connected through the Floo Network, though. That way I can pop in whenever I feel like it."

"Oh, joy," Ella said sarcastically with her eyes still shut. Despite the fact that she was a rather studious girl who would more likely than not take extra classes in the morning next term, Ella Stirling was not a morning person. She loved Juni with all of her heart, but right now all she wanted to do was throw her onto the floor and sleep in peace.

"Come on!" Juni said, tugging Ella's arm. "It's your thirteenth birthday! Get up! Your mom has breakfast ready and everything."

That's when Ella tuned into her surroundings. She had begun to shake off the sleepiness a little and could hear things more clearly now. She could hear Riley crying downstairs, her baby brother was also not a morning person. She could also hear Jackson being scolded by their mother, Merlin only knows what he had been doing this time. Ella threw her blankets off of her grumpily and looked at her clock as she pulled on her robe.

"You woke me up way too early," Ella grumbled to Juni as they began to walk downstairs.

"Ella, it's just past ten in the morning," Juni said.

"Yeah, and if I had it my way I would be sleeping until noon."

"Oh, such a rebel you are now," Jackson piped in from the table as Ella and Juni made their way into the kitchen. "You've been so ruined, my dear baby sister."

"Shut up," Ella snarled at him as she sat down across from him. "I'm not ruined, I've never been a morning person."

"Right," Jackson said. "And I'm gonna be Head Boy next year!"

"Oh, would you two stop, please?" Margaret, their mother, said as she brought the food over to the table. Ella's heart almost skipped a beat when she laid her eyes on the Full Scottish Breakfast, one of her favorites. "We have a guest, maybe you could act like you actually love each other for a little while. And Jackson, stop teasing her. It's your sister's birthday."

"It's really okay, Ms. Ross," Juni said as she played with Riley on the floor, she had learned a long time ago to stop calling Margaret "Mrs. Stirling" after Ella's father left. "I go to school with them, I see them bicker all the time."

"Still," Margaret said while eyeing her two older children, "you'd think they'd be old enough to stop fighting like they do."

"I'll stop fighting with him when he stops being a knobhead," Ella said as she poured herself a cup of coffee.

Margaret sighed and tugged on her hair, much like Ella did when she was frustrated. But then her head popped up suddenly, "Oh!" She said, getting up to grab something from the living room. "Before I forget, this came for you this morning!" She returned a moment later with a large parcel addressed to Ella. She dropped it down in front of her daughter and sat down at the head of the table, smiling, watching her reaction.

"Who's it from?" Ella asked after drowning half of her coffee in one go. She turned the package to see the return address, it was from Fred and George and a smile bloomed on her face for the first time that morning. She began to eagerly tear it open and Jackson was grumbling across from her. "What's your deal?" She asked him. "I thought you adored the twins."

"Yeah," He said, pointing his fork at her, "that was until they started taking too much of an interest in my baby sister."

"You're so thick," Ella retorted before turning her attention back to her present. It wasn't anything extravagant, but she loved it. There were a couple boxes of Fizzing Whizbees, her favorite, a new ladle for Potions, a few chocolate frogs, and a knitted scarf that she assumed was made by Molly Weasley. "Oh, and there's letters!" She said excitedly. There were separate ones from Fred and George, one from Ginny, and even a short one from Ron.

She opened the letter from George first for no reason in particular.

 _Dear Donnie,_

 _Happy Birthday! I hope you're enjoying your day so far, but you probably aren't. I'm guessing that either Juni or your mother woke you up way earlier than you wanted. But hey, I had to get up even earlier than you to send you this present, so stop complaining. And lighten up! You're thirteen now! We're going to be the same age for a few months, how exciting. Try not to let it go to your head, though. I don't care how much you've helped Fred and me over the past month, you're still the rookie. The newbie. The young grasshopper, if you will. And me and Fred are your senseis. Old and Wise._

 _Anyways, I really do hope that you enjoy your day. I wish that we could be there with you instead of being stuck in this ruddy old castle. I can't believe Mum and Dad left us here so they could go visit stupid Charlie and his stupid Dragons in stupid Romania. I hope you like the present (especially the ladle, we weren't sure if we got the right kind) and that you and Juni have some fun. I'll see you at the end of the holidays._

 _Yours truly,  
George Weasley_

Ella smiled and blushed. There was a twinge of annoyance in her when he addressed her as "Donnie" but his note really was sweet. She opened Fred's letter next.

 _Dear Ellie (You're probably going to roll your eyes when you read that. And when you read this bit too),_

 _Happy Birthday, loser! I'm just kidding, you aren't a loser. But only because you're friends with me. If you were just friends with George though, you'd be a loser. But you're blessed enough to have me as a friend, lucky you. I hope you like the present and that we got you all the right stuff. You have no idea how hard it was to find that ladle at a price that we could actually afford. You're lucky we like you. Anywho, I won't bore you with a long and sappy love letter like George probably did. So, Happy Birthday and try to have some fun even though I'm not there with you._

 _(P.S) Sorry about the scarf, Mum made us swear that we'd send it to you._

 _Sincerely,  
Fred Weasley_

Fred's letter made her smile. She could basically hear his voice dripping from the words, he might as well have just sent her a Howler. Which she was surprised to see that their younger sister, Ginny, had actually done. Ella opened up Ginny's Howlers and Ginny's voice filled their kitchen.

" _Happy Birthday, Ella! I wish that I could be with you today! But I'm going to be in Romania with Mum and Dad! You have to come over during the summer holidays again like you did last year and we can celebrate then. You can teach me how you braid your hair so well and we can have Mum bake a cake. It'll be great. Have a wonderful day and eat lots of candies for me! Bye!"_ And then the red envelope burst into flames and was left with nothing but ashes. It was so sweet of Ginny to write to her on her birthday, she made a mental note to definitely write her back.

Ron's letter was the shortest of them all and it made Ella chortle when she read it.

 _Dear Ella,_

 _Thanks for keeping Fred and George off my back sometimes. Happy Birthday!_

 _From,  
Ron Weasley_

Ella was halfway done with her breakfast when she was through reading all of the notes and shifting through all the little presents that she had received. "Well," Ella's mother said, "that was certainly sweet of them to send you all that, wasn't it? Should we be expecting to see them anytime today?"

"Definitely not," Ella said, still eating. "They had to stay at school over the holidays because their parents went to go visit their brother in Romania. He works with Dragons."

"Oh, how exciting!" Margaret said. "I suppose it's a good thing that they won't be dropping by tonight because I've made us reservations at The Ruby Rose for dinner!"

"Ma! You haven't!" Ella said excitedly. The Ruby Rose was a small Italian restaurant downtown and Ella's favorite. It was in the wizarding part of town, very similar to Diagon Alley, except this place was called Kelpipe Avenue. Ella was surprised that her mother had made reservations there, it was a little on the expensive side, and things had been getting tighter and tighter with the finances ever since her father left.

"I did," Margaret said, beaming at her daughter's reaction.

"Oh, Ma!" Ella said and sprang from her chair to wrap her arms around her mother's neck. "Thank you so much!"

"But it gets better," Margaret said and hugged her daughter in return. "Juni gets to come with us as well."

"Oh no, Ms. Ross," Juni said politely, "it's really alright. You don't have to bring me."

"Nonsense!" Margaret said and waved her hand. "You're practically a part of this family. You should come with us."

"Will I have to wear my dress robes?" Jackson asked from over his cup of tea. Jackson despised dressing up.

"No, but something a little nicer would be preferable. We're actually going to a nice dinner, not going to the Grap's Horn," Margaret said and started cleaning up the table. "Speaking of which," She placed all dishes in the sink and turned back around, "I have one more thing to give you, my wee angel. Accio Ella's dress!" She said and held out her hand. Within seconds a little black dress with flowers printed on it flew into Margaret's hands. "Happy Birthday, sweetie!"

"Ma! You shouldn't have, I love it!" Ella rushed over and scooped the dress into her arms and held it up in front of her, admiring it. She didn't know how her mother was affording all of this, she always her kids on their birthdays.

"I have every reason to," Margaret said and pressed a kiss to Ella's temple. "It's your day, you can get anything you want. Within reason of course."

Ella laughed lightly. "So, what are we doing until then?"

"Whatever you want to do."

Jackson groaned leaned his head back. He knew that the day would probably include lots of shopping, lots of sweets, and lots of things that he wanted no part in. "Well, Jackson, if you don't want to accompany us downtown then you can, by all means, stay here and watch Riley." Riley gurgled happily from his high chair and Jackson grimaced. He loved his brother but there was no way he was going to stay cooped in the house with a baby while the rest of his family was out and about the town.

Jackson sighed greatly. "Fine, I'll go," he said resentfully.

"I thought so," Margaret said happily and shooed Ella and Juni towards the stairs. "Now, go on and get ready. I'd like to leave in thirty minutes so we have plenty of time to go around town and come home and change for dinner."

"Okay, Ma!" Ella shouted over her shoulder as she and Juni scurried up the stairs and back into Ella's room.

Ella's room was very clean for a twelve year old's room. The walls were currently painted a deep navy blue and the trim was white, the furniture simple and made from dark wood, bookcases lined the walls and there was a glamorous vanity mirror in the corner, a gift from her grandmother. Magic certainly came in handy when it came to Ella's room because she changed her mind on the layout and style every few months. When she had left for school in September, her room had been a lilac color and the furniture was quite contemporary and Ella had asked her mother to help her change it again when she returned home for the Christmas holidays. This look was a far more classic look and Juni liked it much better than its predecessor.

Technically, Ella shouldn't even have a room, and neither should Riley. They shouldn't have a basement either. Or an attic. But their mother was an insanely brilliant witch, that's where Ella got it from. So, Margaret had cast an Undetectable Extension Charm on their small, one floor, cottage like house. The kitchen and living room had nearly doubled in size, and they gained two extra floors and a basement. They were paying way less for the property than what it was worth at this point, but no one needed to know that. Ella also had a sneaking suspicious that her newfound fondness of rebellion came from her mother as well.

"Do you need to borrow a dress for tonight?" Ella asked Juni as she rifled through her closer, trying to figure out what to wear to town.

"Yeah, I guess," Juni huffed and sat down at Ella's desk and absentmindedly spun the globe that sat there.

"Why so glum? It's your best friend's birthday! Lighten up a bit."

"I know," Juni said, still spinning the globe. "And I'm not trying to make this day about me —"

"You know I don't care about that. I would walk out on my wedding day for you."

"Thank you, but let me finish. I've actually been wanting to talk to you about this for a while now." Juni took a deep breath and made her way over to Ella's bed. "I just...don't like wearing dresses. Or having my hair like this," She said as she tugged on her long brown hair for emphasis. "Or when you do my makeup, no offense."

Ella sat down across from Juni and rested her hand on her leg comfortingly. "Is that it? You just wanted to tell me that you don't like girly things? Well, that's fine! I don't care and I think —"

"No," Juni cut Ella off, and Ella was surprised to hear a break in her voice. "It's not just that. I don't think — I don't think I'm a girl, Ella."

Ella smiled and chuckled in a nervous reaction. She didn't understand. "What do you mean 'you don't think you're a girl?' I mean, look at you, you are very much a girl."

"No!" Juni whined and allowed a few tears to leak down her face, but she wiped them away hurriedly. "I'm sorry, it's your birthday and I'm crying! I should never have mentioned it, I'm sorry." She put her head in her hands and scrunched her bangs up into her hands.

"No, no," Ella said gently, trying to pry Juni's hands away from her face so she could look her best friend in the eyes. "It's okay, Juni. Please, explain. I want to understand."

Juni sniffed and lifted her head, wiping her eyes. "I've been feeling weird for ages now, I just didn't know what to call it. And one day I was sitting at home and I was thinking 'I don't know what it is — something just doesn't feel right.' So, I went to the library and I looked up some of the symptoms, I guess you could call them, and I figured it out."

"And what did you figure out?" Ella asked tentatively.

Juni's lip quivered as she said, "Ella, I think I'm transgender." Juni began to cry even harder and Ella pulled her into a hug quickly. Ella didn't even know what "transgender" meant but she didn't care. She just wanted Juni to stop crying.

"Shhh," Ella shushed her and rocked Juni as she cried. "It's okay, Juni, everything's okay. Everything is gonna be fine, I promise." Ella could feel tears welling up in her own eyes as her best friend's tears soaked through her robe. "It's okay, Juni. I still love you, Juni," Ella whispered to Juni and Juni squeezed her even harder.

"I love you so much, Ella," Juni said into Ella's shoulder. "You're the best friend I could ever ask for. I needed to tell you. I needed to tell _someone_. I'm so sorry that I did this today," Juni blubbered. Ella rocked her back and forth for a few more minutes and it seemed to calm Juni down quite a bit. So, Ella decided that she would try asking for clarification again.

"If you can, do you think you could explain what transgender is? I'm afraid I don't really understand," Ella said as gently as possible.

Juni nodded a little bit. "Yeah, I can," she took another huge breath and began to explain what transgender was. Ella sat there in near amazement as her best friend told her how she felt as though she was a boy trapped inside a girl's body. She wasn't repulsed or angry about it, just amazed at how one person could feel so trapped in their own body. She couldn't even imagine it, but she saw nothing wrong with Juni's situation. Juni was still Juni, and that was all that mattered. After Juni had finished she stared at Ella as if she was afraid that Ella would kick her out.

"And you were nervous to tell me this?" Ella said, astonished.

"Well, I didn't know how well you would react. With all the research I've done, there doesn't seem to be a very large supporting for it yet," Juni said timidly. "I didn't want you to be disgusted with me, I guess."

Ella rested her hands on Juni's shoulders and gave a firm squeeze. "Juniper Kyeong, I will never be disgusted with you. You could be a werewolf, a vampire, boy, or girl, and I would still love you unconditionally."

Juni beamed at Ella and tears shone in her eyes again, but a different kind, these were happy tears. "Thank you so much, Ella. You have no idea what it means to me to hear that from you. And I swear I'll explain more later but I really don't want to make today all about me."

"Hey," Ella said as she got about and grabbed an outfit out of her closet, "you only have to tell me what you want to tell me. I'm not going to make you explain anything you don't want to. And by the way, you can borrow some of Jackson's old robes for dinner tonight if it would make you feel more comfortable."

"I would love that, thank you so much."

"It's no problem," Ella said. Juni was relieved that Ella was treating her as she always had before as if nothing was different. But she could tell that she wasn't ignoring the fact that Juni had come out as transgender, but she had merely accepted it.

"If you don't mind me asking, how do you think your parents are going to react when you tell them. _If_ you're going to tell them, that is," Ella said from her vanity as she smeared makeup onto her face.

Juni sighed and leaned back onto the mattress. "I'm definitely going to tell them. I mean, I have to don't I? I'm going to have to do something about all of _this_ eventually," She said, gesturing to her body as if she was annoyed by it.

"You can do something about it?"

"Oh yeah," Juni said. "There's surgeries for it, Muggle procedures of course. They're very early in development, but they're out there."

"Barbaric," Ella said and shuddered. "I find Muggles fascinating but I can't believe that they resort to cutting people to heal them. Anyways," she said and pulled her outfit on, "I think your parents will come around. No offense Juni, but your parents are kind of hippies."

Juni laughed. "I know, you're right. They are, but it's still scary. You're my best friend and it was scary to tell you. I don't even want to _think_ about telling my parents right now."

"And you don't have to!" Ella said in a rush. She really didn't want Juni to cry again. "All you have to worry about it what flavor of ice cream you want when we get to Kelpipe Avenue."

Juni smiled at Ella. "Thank you, Ella. You're the best ever."

"I know," Ella said and offered Juni her arm, and they walked downstairs together.

They all took the Floo down to Kelpipe Avenue and the rest of the day went off without a hitch. They got ice cream, looked in all the shops, and ended the night with a wonderful dinner. Ella got a heaping bowl of spaghetti, Riley threw noodles at Jackson, and Juni wore Jackson's old robes without anyone even batting an eyelash.


	10. You're Fine, Man

"I can't believe you actually tried to send Harry a toilet seat," Ella said as she glanced at Fred and George over the copy of Hogwarts, A History that she had borrowed from Hermione.

"We wanted to make him feel better! He could have died down there, you know!" George said defensively.

"Yeah, and we would have successfully sent him a toilet seat if Madam Pomfrey hadn't have deemed it 'unsanitary.'" Fred grumbled from next to George and sulked in his seat.

Ella chuckled and rolled her eyes, pushing her glasses further up on the bridge of her nose. "You two are so weird."

"Speaking of weird," Lee Jordan said, "what are you doing in our train compartment?"

"Your train compartment?" Ella asked with raised eyebrows. "I'm sorry, I don't recall seeing your names on the door." Fred and George stifled their laughter.

"I just mean why are you here with us? You're usually with all of your other friends. What about Katie?"

"She's with Angelina and Alicia in another car," Ella said, hardly even paying attention anymore, she was more interested in her book.

"And what about Cho?"

"She's with her friends from Ravenclaw." Ella thumbed to the next page.

"Okay, fine. But, what about Juni? The two of you are inseparable."

"I'm sure he'll be along soon. He said he was just going to find the trolley and buy something before all the good things have gone."

"Alright," Fred said, "about that. What's this whole 'he' thing about? You've been referring to Juni as a boy for like, six months now. Why?"

Before the winter holidays had even ended, Ella had convinced Juni to tell his parents about being transgender. Like Ella had suspected, it went swimmingly. Juni's parents were very liberal and very suspecting people, all they wanted was for their daughter, now their son, to be happy. And if being a boy is what made Juni happy, then so be it. They had even gone as far to let him cut his hair and had gotten him some "boy" clothes of his own. Until then, he had been using Jackson's old ones.

Ella shrugged. "Because Juni's a boy. Simple as that."

"But what does that _mean_?" George asked her. Just like Ella hadn't before, they didn't understand.

"I really don't think that I'm the person to tell you that." Ella pulled out the connected journals that she and Juni had exchanged at the beginning of their first year. When a message was sent through it, it became very hot. So, she was sure Juni would know that she had written to him if he had it on him. Which, of course, she knew he did.

 _Would you be okay with telling Fred, George, and Lee about your situation? They keep asking me questions._

Only moments passed before she saw Juni's handwriting appear on the page in front of her.

 _I guess. You just have to promise them that they won't make fun of me._

Ella scribbled furiously in reply.

 _Of course. If you don't want to you don't have to. I just don't really know how to answer all their questions without outting you._

Juni got back to her within the minute.

 _Nah, it's fine. I can tell them, I just don't feel like getting made fun of more than I already do._

Ella felt her heart clench at that. Juni has been getting made fun of ever since they got to school because he was Muggle-born, being trans only added to that. Not everyone knew that he was transgendered, most people just thought he was a really masculine girl. Juni was fine with that for now, though. The people who really mattered knew that he was a boy, and that was all he really cared about.

"Fine," Ella said, snapping her book shut, "Juni's going to come in here and he's going to explain why I call him a boy. But all three of you have to promise that you'll be mature and that you'll tell absolutely _no_ jokes. This is serious." She fixed them all with a look that told her she was not taking this lightly.

"Okay," George said skeptically. "We won't do anything, right boys?" Fred and Lee nodded in agreement.

At just the perfect moment Juni opened the door and casually strode in to sit down next to Ella. If you didn't know him before, you wouldn't even be able to tell that he looked completely different six months ago. His dark hair was cropped short and he looked no different from any other boy in his school robes. Juni was completely passable as a boy, because in all reality he was.

"So," Juni said, his voice still incredibly feminine and soft, "I hear you have some questions that you want answers to."

"Well, I mean," Lee Jordan said hesitantly, "if that's alright."

Juni shrugged. He might as well get used to telling people, he'd have to do it eventually. "Yeah, it's fine. You guys just have to promise that you'll take it well."

"That depends on what there is to take," Fred said, crossing his arms. And if looks could kill, the look that Ella shot him would have had him six feet under before he could say "Quidditch."

"Fred, you promised —" Ella said menacingly.

"El, it's fine," Juni said and held his hands up to her, like he was trying to calm down Ella's aura. "They have a right to be a little confused." He took a deep breath like he had done that day in Ella's room, except there were no tears this time. In only a short amount of time, he had become way more comfortable with himself. "I am transgender," Juni said very clearly. He was met with three blank stares.

"And what does that mean?" George said, leaning forward like he did when he was interested in something. Ella's heart warmed a bit. He didn't seem put off, just curious. And if she cared about anyone accepting Juni, it was Fred and George, and she couldn't put her finger on why.

"Well," Juni said, trying to find a good way to word it, "it definitely means that I'm a boy. And before you say that I'm not, I can assure that I am. Just not on the outside yet. But up here," he tapped on his head, "and in here," he placed his hand over his heart, "I am. I cannot begin to express how trapped I have felt in my body until now." He was met by the blank stares again, they seemed to be sifting through all the information and trying to grasp the concept.

"So," Lee said, "basically what you're trying to say is that you're not a girl anymore? And that you're a guy now?"

"Brilliant observation, Lee," Ella piped up, but quieted back down when Juni gave her a look as if to say, "Calm down, please."

"Yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying," Juni said coolly. He was far more composed than when he had come out to Ella and his parents.

"Oh," Fred said and sank back, tension melting away from his shoulders. "That's it? That's all you had to tell us?"

"Yes…" Juni said skeptically.

"Well, that's fine. If you're a dude then you're a dude. We don't have a problem with that, do we, George?"

George shook his head. "I don't see an issue with it. I mean, at this point, if I had just walked passed you on the street I would just think you're a guy anyways. So, what's the harm?"

Juni couldn't believe what he was hearing, he had not expected to be received this well. All of the articles and books that he had read had led him to believe that all of his friends would abandon him and his parents would kick him out, that was the case for a lot of people and it disgusted him. But he was truly blessed to be in the company of such accepting people. "Wait, you're serious? You don't care?"

"Nah," Lee said and clapped Juni on the shoulder, "you're fine, man."

"Well — I mean, okay," Juni said, it was his turn to be befuddled. They were being so nonchalant as if he had just told them about the weather.

"Yeah, it's fine," Fred said. "Can I have one of your Chocolate Frogs, man?"

Juni smiled and handed over one of his Chocolate Frogs to Fred. Being called "dude" and "man" was something that Juni revelled in, and to hear people so openly call him those things made him so incredibly happy that he couldn't even put it into words. This had been such an incredible second year, he wouldn't trade it for the world.


	11. No Promises

Ella sat across from Katie at the Gryffindor table as the new students were being sorted and she was nestled in between Fred and George. "Hey, where are Ron and Harry?" Ella whispered to George, who was sitting so close to her that their thighs were brushing together.

George shrugged. "I dunno, I figured they would be here by now." He nudged Fred with his elbow. "D'you know where Ron's gone off to?"

"No idea," Fred said and shook his head.

"Hm," Ella said and raised her eyebrows, "weird." The rest of the feast continued on and neither Ron nor Harry showed up. Hermione was getting rather worried.

"Do you think they're alright?" She asked Ella after dinner, nervously wringing her hands together.

"Yes," Katie said, "for the thousandth time. And I thought you were mad at them for being late?"

"I am! I can only imagine that they're late because they did something completely irresponsible."

"Rumor has it that they've been expelled for crashing a flying car."

"I know! I wouldn't put it past them. _Honestly!_ The nerve of those two —"

"Oi, calm down," Ella said, pointing out Harry and Ron, "they're right there, 'Mione. Go on, berate them to your little heart's content." And Ella gave Hermione a little push towards the boys. She watched her go fondly. "I like her. She reminds me of me when I was like that."

"What do you mean _was_?" Katie asked her. "You're literally still like that with Fred and George. Just way less because they've managed to pull you into their stupid pranks."

"They aren't stupid!" Ella defended. "If you actually look at how they pull all this stuff off it's quite systematic, really. And they've started talking about developing products of their own creation soon. They want to open a joke shop, did you know that? Isn't that amazing?"

Katie stole Ella's trademark and rolled her eyes. "Oh God, please stop swooning over your boyfriends for five minutes, please."

"They are _not_ my boyfriends!"

"Oh right, I forgot. Only George is your boyfriend." Katie laughed and shoved Ella into the portrait hole. They scrambled past a large sea of kids, neither of them really caring to hear about the rumors about Harry, Ron, and the flying car.

"You know," Ella said as they walked up to the third year girls' dormitory, "one of these days I'm just going to snap and strangle the life out of you."

"Yeah? Bet you won't!" Katie said and laughed, ducking the pillow that Ella threw at her. Katie picked it up and whipped it right back at her.

"Katie, you just picked the wrong fight," Ella said dangerously and tossed her glasses onto her bed, picking up another pillow and rushing at Katie, hitting her with it. Katie hit her right back and soon they had started an all out pillow fight. The few other third year girls hadn't come up to the dorms yet so it was just Ella and Katie, shrieking and smacking each other with pillows.

"Oh my God!" Angelina Johnson yelled as she sauntered into the third year girls' dormitory and sees what Katie and Ella had done. There were feathers floating loftily through the air and both girls were red faced and breathless with childish smiles on their faces. "What are you two doing?"

"We're — having a pillow fight!" Ella said, her mouth dry from the heavy breathing.

"Yeah, we can see that," Alicia Spinnet said and blew a stray a feather out of her face. "Why exactly?"

"She started it!" Katie said and pointed a finger at Ella.

"You provoked me!" Ella fired back. She looked around the dorm and sighed. "Although we did just destroy both of my pillows." She pulled her wand out of her robe, waved it, and said, "Reparo." Feathers began to dart back into the pillows, restoring them to their proper state, and they floated back onto Ella's bed. "Magic, what would I do without you?" Ella sighed and fell back against their mattress.

"What are you guys doing up here?" Katie asked Angelina and Alicia as she changed out of her robes and into her pajamas. It was nowhere near curfew yet, but Ella and Katie had decided that they wanted to stay in and have a nice night.

"Fred and George were being annoying," Angelina said with a shrug, "and Lee wouldn't quit asking me out. So, we came up here to see if you guys wanted to hang out."

"Yeah!" Ella said, also changing into her pajamas now. "We were just gonna stay in and listen to music and stuff, though, I hope that's alright."

"Yeah, that's fine," Alicia said, "We can start showing Angelina more Muggle music tonight." Alicia and Katie were both Half-blood, while Ella and Angelina were both Pure-blooded. Although, Ella had a bigger insight into the Muggle world than Angelina, and they had all taken to showing her the "Muggle culture." It was a way easier and way more fun way for Angelina to learn without having to take Muggle Studies.

Angelina and Alicia left and then returned shortly, also in pajamas and fluffy robes. Alicia had brought some of her CDs and Butterbeer and Angelina had brought some of her new Quidditch catalogs. Ella popped in one of Alicia's CDs and smiled when she heard the sound of The Red Hot Chili Peppers. "Nice choice, Alicia."

They actually had quite the nice night up in the dorm. Angelina had actually taken a huge liking to one of Ella's new favorite bands, Pearl Jam. They had also offered Ella her first Butterbeer, and it was significantly less alcoholic than Ella had suspected. Her brother, Jackson, had started drinking when he was around her age, but only because their mother had specifically told him not to. Margaret had never really given any thought about Ella ever drinking before she was legally allowed to do so, she had always been the angel child. But recently, that had been changing, and Ella's mother still had no idea.

Ella was lying on her bed on her stomach, flipping through a Quidditch catalog and sipping her third Butterbeer. "Hey, do you guys wanna hear something awesome?" They all said yes, so she continued. "Juni said that's he's going to ask Snape if he can transfer over to the boys' dormitories tonight."

"Oh, that's so great!" Katie gushed, she had been very supportive of Juni. "I hope he says yes."

"He probably won't," Alicia said resentfully. "You know how Snape is. He hates anything that allows anyone any happiness at all."

"Don't you think that's for the best, though?" Angelina said quietly. "I mean, wouldn't it be safer for her — him, sorry — to stay in the girls' dorms. There's less of a chance of bullying that way isn't there?" Angelina had a harder time accepting Juni than the rest. It wasn't anything personal, it was just how she was raised, but she was working past it. That was more than others could say.

"It doesn't matter either way," Ella said, draining the rest of her Butterbeer. "He's going to get shit in either dorm he goes to. But he wants to be in the boys' dorm because he's a boy, so I support him."

"I hope that didn't make me sound prejudice!" Angelina moaned. "I'm sorry, I'm still getting used to it."

Ella waved it off. "It's fine, I know what you meant. And hey, it means a lot that you're trying. That's more than some others can say." Just then, there was a small sizzling sound coming from Ella's bedside stand. It was her journal, it had gotten so hot with a new message that it had begun to singe the wood. Ella scrambled over to it and opened it, eager to see the message from Juni. Her heart dropped down to her stomach.

She looked up at all the others with grim eyes and her lips pressed into a hard line. "He said no." Alicia's hands came up to cover her mouth and Katie and Angelina began protesting immediately.

 _"How could he do that to him?"_

 _"I can't believe him! What an awful man!"_

 _"I really do hope he gets sacked!"_

Ella paid little to no attention to the rest of them, she had gotten up off her bed and began to change into a pair of black pants and a black Nirvana hoodie she had gotten from Juni for Christmas. She had learned from Fred and George that it was easier to sneak around the school when you were wearing dark colors. Katie eyed her warily, Ella had started doing that thing that she did when she let her emotions get the best of her. She wasn't really listening to anyone, she had made up her mind, so there was basically no chance of changing it now.

"Where are you going?" Katie groaned and slammed a pillow over her face. The term hadn't officially started yet and Ella was already was already off to wreak some havoc on the school. "Why can't you go back to worshipping the rules and staying out of trouble?" Katie said, her voice muffled by the pillow.

"Because," Ella grunted, "there are some things that are more important than following the rules." That was something she had learned over the past year, and it had changed her entire perspective on how she behaved.

"Just don't do anything you'll regret, okay?"

"No promises," Ella said and stalked out of the dormitory.


	12. A Line Crossed

Ella was walking through the village of Hogsmeade, hand in hand with a Ravenclaw boy named Bobby Silenger, and she was smiling dreamily. Snow was falling gently around them and it stuck to her ginger hair and made her cheeks rosy. She had ditched her old pair of glasses that were small and rectangular and had exchanged them for a pair that was much more round and had larger lenses, they really complimented her features quite well. Her makeup was done subtly yet skillfully and Ella couldn't recall a time when she had ever felt better about herself.

"You look amazing today, Ella," Bobby told her as they walked along a secluded path back up to the train station to go back to Hogwarts.

Ella blushed but she doubted there was a visible difference because her cheeks were already so frostbitten. "Thank you, Bobby. I was hoping I would look nice for our date."

"Well, you succeeded with flying colors." Bobby had stopped them walking and was now holding both of Ella's hands in his. "I mean it, Ella, you really took my breath away when I saw you." He brushed a stray piece of hair behind her ear and for some reason, Ella had to fight the urge to recoil. "I really like you, Ella…" Bobby trailed off, his eyes lingering on her lips and butterflies erupted in Ella's stomach. She didn't answer him, but rather just let him press his lips against hers. She was indefinitely disappointed when she felt nothing when he kissed her, she had been hoping for at least a little spark, but there was nothing.

They stayed like that for a few seconds with their lips pressed awkwardly together, neither of them moving a muscle. But then Bobby decided that he had had enough and grabbed Ella by the waist, pulling her to him. Not roughly, but strong enough to press their bodies together.

Suddenly, Ella heard an all too familiar voice holler from behind her and Bobby, "GET OFF OF HER!" When she separated from Bobby, her hands resting on his shoulders, she saw a furious George Weasley, who was striding towards them with reckless abandon. Fred seemed to be nowhere in sight, which was quite unusual seeing as how the twins were practically glued together. When George approached them he seized Silenger by the back of his coat and threw him down into the snow, hexing him for good measure.

"George!" Ella shrieked, mortified, and stooped down next to Bobby to make sure that wasn't too badly injured. He seemed to be okay except for the fact that he could not move and his lips seemed to be stuck together. She glared up at George, equally angry now that he had interrupted her date. Which had been going so well until now! "What on earth is wrong with you, George Weasley?! Have you gone mad!?"

"Yes!" George cried and hauled Ella up and away from Bobby by her upper arms. "Mad for you!" And with that, George slammed his lips onto Ella's and she immediately felt the spark that had been missing with Bobby. Fireworks exploded in her mind and her heart was racing faster than it ever had in her life. All thoughts of Bobby Silenger and their date were thrown out the window as she flung her arms around George's neck and his arms slid around her waist. The height difference between them caused Ella to stand on the very tips of her toes to stay connected to him.

"Ella, I'm mad for you," George panted when finally tore his lips away from hers. "Always have been, I couldn't keep it from you any longer, I'm sorry." He kissed her again and Ella had absolutely no complaints. "Be mine, Ella," he said to her. "Please, I need you to wake up."

Ella retracted from George with a confused expression on her face. "What?"

"Wake up, Ella!" George shouted and shook her body. "You have to wake up."

Ella's eyes shot open and what she saw was not George Weasley or a snow covered Hogsmeade, but Katie Bell, rattling the frame of Ella's bed and yelling at her. "What in the hell?" Ella grumbled sleepily and looked through her window, noticing how the sun had barely even started to rise. "Katie, shut up, it's way too early."

"No, we've got to go, like now!" Katie said, frantically pulling on her clothes. "Oliver's called for Quidditch practice and we have fifteen minutes to get down to the pitch!"

"Shit!" Ella hissed and threw her covers off of her, pulling on clothes and yanking a brush through her unruly red curls. In record time her and Katie were running out of the common room and down to the Quidditch pitch. If they were late Oliver would have their heads!

By the time they were approaching the pitch, so were Fred and George, and Ella blushed madly as memories of her dream flooded her mind. She'd definitely have to tell Juni, Katie, and Cho about this later. "Hey, guys," Katie said sleepily, stifling a yawn.

"Hi," both Fred and George said, equally as tired. Ella was being uncharacteristically quiet, especially around the twins, and they picked up on it.

"You alright there, Ellie?" George asked and nudged her with his elbow.

Ella blushed and goosebumps spread down her back when he touched her and she kicked herself mentally. _What the hell is wrong with you?_ She thought to herself angrily. _This is George we're talking about. You're only being weird because you had a funny dream about it, that's it! You could have had that dream about anyone! It meant nothing._ "Yeah, I'm fine," Ella said, her voice sounding timider than she would have liked.

"Rough morning?" Fred asked, feigning sympathy as he raked his eyes over her disheveled appearance.

"Oh, shut it," Ella snarled and pushed past them to the changing room, Katie following close behind her.

"What was that about?" Katie asked quietly while she and Ella were changing into their scarlet Quidditch robes.

"What was what?" Ella responded, acting as though she hadn't the faintest idea of what Katie was talking about.

"Ella, please, I've known you for three years now. I can tell when you're acting funny and you were definitely acting funny around Fred and George. What, did they make another sexist comment that you didn't agree with?"

Ella glared slightly at Katie, no one really took Ella's feminist tendencies seriously, not even other girls. "No, they didn't," Ella said irritably. Where was Oliver to start practice when you needed him? "And don't make jokes like that, sexism isn't funny!" She added hastily.

"So are you going to tell me about what has you upset then or not?" Katie asked, determined to get to the root of the problem.

Ella glanced around to make sure no one was close enough to hear, not that it really mattered anyways, everyone basically seemed like a corpse this morning. "Fine," Ella said, her voice barely above a whisper, "but you have to promise you won't tell anyone." She offered Katie her pinky finger in order for Katie to promise.

"Yeah, yeah," Katie said and rolled her eyes, linking her finger with Ella's. "Who would I even tell? _You're_ the person I go to when I have things to tell."

Ella glanced around again and then pulled Katie towards her in order for to whisper in her ear, "I had a dream about George last night."

"You WHAT?" Katie said loudly, covering her mouth and giggling. Ella shushed her hurriedly and shot daggers at her with her eyes.

Before Ella could scold Katie any further Oliver walked in the room, ready as ever to start shoving new Quidditch tactics down their throats. Ella tried to pay attention while Oliver droned on about broom maneuvers, she really did, but her brain was too foggy with sleep and thoughts of George Weasley (which infuriated her just as much as it confused her). And before she knew it, they were leaving the changing room to begin their drills.

"Uh oh," Ella said to Katie as she saw the Slytherin Quidditch team approaching them with gusto. "This can't be good." She watched, trying to keep her temper under control, as Wood and Flint argued for who would be able to use the pitch this morning. But of course, Snape, that biased slimeball, had written a note for the Slytherin team to use the pitch this morning to "train their new Seeker." Ella's stomach turned unpleasantly when Slytherin's new Seeker was revealed to be Draco Malfoy, a boy who had mercilessly bullied Juni ever since he got to Hogwarts.

Ella felt the heat rising in her throat when Malfoy began insulting Fred and George and she was almost ready to snap when Ron and Hermione ran onto the field. But then Malfoy called Hermione a Mudblood and all hell broke loose. Oliver held back Fred and Ella wrapped her arms around George's torso to keep him from lunging at Malfoy. He seemed incredibly angry but Ella's touch seemed to comfort him a bit.

"You'll pay for that one, Malfoy!" Ron said and went to jinx him. But with his broken wand, the spell rebounded and hit Ron instead. He started barfing up slugs and Ella had to consciously stop herself from vomiting, that was disgusting. Harry and Hermione hauled Ron up and began to drag him away, Ella thought she heard them mention bringing him to Hagrid's.

"Come on, team, let's go," Oliver said coldly, turning away from the Slytherins who were now doubled over in laughter. Everyone was furious and were storming towards the changing room, but Fred and George more than the others. Due to the how tall the twins were and how small Ella was, she had to run to catch up with them. All concerns about her newfound "feelings" towards George and the dream she had about him were forgotten and her only mission right now was to comfort her friends.

"Fred! George! Wait up, please!" Ella begged them. She followed them into the changing room and stood idly by and they started to rip their Quidditch robes off of their bodies. They seemed very anxious to get out of here. "Don't listen to Malfoy, he's a stupid, slimy, little prat!"

"Easy for you to say," George growled. "You don't have to deal with having the mickey taken out of you because your father can't afford the newest broom model."

"Yeah," Fred agreed snappily. "You don't get what it's like. You have such a perfect little life with your cute baby brother and Jackson, the school hunk, and your beautiful laid back mother. Your perfect little birthday with your fancy dinner and your new black dress. What do we have? Ron is throwing up slugs, Percy is the biggest git to ever grace the school, and our mother cries every time someone so much as drops a fork. You just wouldn't get it."

Rage built up in Ella faster than she could keep up with. She loved Fred and George but they could be really insensitive sometimes. Especially when they didn't know what they were talking about. She really didn't feel like divulging her family history to them but she just couldn't help but blow up on them.

"I don't know what it's like? Do you have any idea what my family has been through?" Before they could respond, she answered for them. "No, you don't! You _don't_ know about how my father started drinking when I was six! You _don't_ know about the abuse he put us through! You _don't_ know that he left when I was seven and how crushed my mother was because she still loved him even though he is one of the most miserable cretins I have ever encountered! You _don't_ know about how Jackson has been working at Honeydukes over the summer for the past four years and on every Hogsmeade trip to make extra money! Do you know why? Because we've been struggling with money ever since my _stupid_ father left. He left us nothing! He left my ma with a single income and two children to take care of! And to make it even better, her boyfriend, who, by the way, Jackson and I thought would make things better, knocked up my mother a ran! He left us! _Just like my father!_ "

Ella had started to cry, not because was sad, but because she was angry. The looks on Fred's and George's faces had changed drastically from dull and angry to completely shocked in the matter of a few seconds. "Ella, we —" George started.

"No!" Ella yelled. "No, you don't get to apologize. You two walk all over me and put me down all the time and a-and — _and I let you!_ Just because I'm not a Weasley doesn't mean that I don't know how it feels to struggle!" Ella had started to blubber, they had really struck a nerve. And a sensitive nerve at that. "You aren't special! You — you're just — JERKS!" She finished lamely and ran from the changing room, crying, not even changing out of her Quidditch robes.

The rest of the team had stood in the entryway of the changing room, watching Ella scream at the twins, and they now watched her run away. Angelina had her mouth covered by her dark hands in shock and Katie looked as though she was ready to rip Fred and George limb from limb. Oliver looked almost as awkward as Fred and George felt, and no one said anything. They all just began to change out of their Quidditch robes wordlessly, Katie moving the quickest.

"You two are the some of the biggest prats I have ever met," Katie seethed at Fred and George as she pulled on her jacket and trainers. "You better make it up to her," She said and jabbed a finger into each other their chests. Then she retreated from the changing room to go and find Ella.

Oliver groaned from one of the benches, "I don't know how we're going to get through this season. Slytherin just ruined our first practice and now this. Merlin, help me," he added miserably. Oliver kept moaning and complaining while Fred and George sat quietly, immensely regretting how harsh they had been on Ella. How were they going to dig themselves out of this one?


	13. The Room of Requirement

Ella was still crying heartily by the time she got back to the castle. Breakfast was just now starting but Ella was not hungry, she wanted to lie in her bed and waste away into nothingness for the rest of eternity. She just wanted a big fluffy blanket, all the hot cocoa and butterbeer in the world, an endless supply of good books, and a nice bath. She was supposed to meet Juni for breakfast and she saw him standing in front of the Great Hall looking for her, but Ella had no intention of facing him right now so she ducked into another corridor before Juni could see her.

She wound through seemingly endless corridors, not knowing entirely where she was going. She couldn't really see that well because all of the tears blurring her vision. She was no longer only crying because two of her best friends had snapped at her, but now she was thinking about her family and how much they had been through. They really didn't deserve any of it. She related to Harry in that aspect. Then, she started to think about Harry. Ella had developed a great fondness for Harry over the past year. He was smart, he was quick, he was witty, and he was a fantastic Quidditch player. What was not to like?

But she also related to him on some levels. Harry had been through so much for being so young, and Ella had not been through nearly as much, but she had been through a lot. When Ella's father left, it killed her mother, which in turn killed her children. There was such a long period of time where Margaret had spent entire days in bed crying, and that was after Derrick Stirling left. It was even worse when he had started drinking but was still in the picture. He had gotten so addicted and so abusive so fast and none of them had ever seen it coming. Granted, Ella had not lost both parents before she even got a chance to know them, but she did indeed lose a parent.

And as much as she hated him now, Ella had once loved her father more than anyone else in the world. And when he left she was so confused and so wounded that she still hadn't recovered from it. That was why she had such a temper when it came to things like these. She wiped another river of tears off of her face angrily as she stopped in front of an unfamiliar door that she had been pacing in front of. She couldn't recall a large mahogany door ever being in this corridor before. What was it doing here now?

As she curiously opened the door she realized that she was still in her Quidditch robes and groaned. She should have changed before talking to Fred and George. What she saw with her puffy red eyes astounded her as she entered the room.

Ella walked into a beautiful high ceilinged room that she had never encountered before. The walls were a soft cream color and they seemed to be illuminated by sunlight even though it was cloudy outside. There were all different kinds of pastel pink flowers that overflowed from hanging baskets around the room, giving it a pleasant aroma. Ella was amazed to see a marble shower in the corner and a giant marble bathtub built right into the floor with steaming water already in it. The water gleamed a beautiful light pink shade and smelled heavily of roses and Ella found herself being drawn to it. Next to the tub laid a copy of her favorite Muggle book, _The Beautiful and Damned_ , and an assortment of drinks and snacks, along with a silk nightgown and a long fluffy white robe.

She was so bewildered by everything at first that she hadn't realized that she must have stumbled into the Room of Requirement! She had heard of it from countless books about Hogwarts that her mother used to read to her as a child. Now realizing where she was she immediately began to strip her Quidditch robes off, throwing them carelessly away from her and strode into the marble shower. When she switched the water on it was undoubtedly the perfect temperature already and Ella sighed when it hit her skin. She was so happy with her surroundings that she hadn't even realized that she had stopped crying, but it definitely felt wonderful to wash the dried tear residue off of her face.

Once she had washed her hair and her body she was ready for that bath. She scurried across the room and slowly sank into the pink water, her eyes rolling back in her head at how blissful it felt. The water was quite hot so Ella reached over the side and grabbed a bottle of cold butterbeer, opening it and relishing in the way the sweet liquid tasted in her mouth. She grabbed _The Beautiful and Damned_ and began to read, she had finished the book multiple times already, but she found new things hidden within the text every time she read it.

Ella must have spent hours in that tub reading and indulging in sweets because when she glanced at her watch it was nearly time for lunch. She glanced at the pink silk nightie and the fluffy white robe, mortified. _Oh, I can't wear that to lunch! But I can't wear my Quidditch robes either!_ She pinched her eyes shut and tugged at the roots of her hair, trying to figure out what to do. When she opened them once more the nightie and robe were still there, but beside them was now a pair of Hogwarts robes and her shoes. Ella decided that the Room of Requirement was now one of her favorite places in the school.

She donned her robes and dashed up to Gryffindor tower to drop off her newfound set of pajamas and then rushed back down to the Great Hall the meet Juni, Katie, and Cho for lunch, something they did often on the weekends when the students didn't have to be seated according to their houses for breakfast and lunch.

When Katie spotted Ella approaching she ran at her, enveloping her in a tight hug. "Ella! Thank god! I was so worried, I couldn't find you anywhere. Where did you go off to?"

"I was just wandering around and reading," Ella lied, she wasn't sure if she should share her new little hiding space. "I'm sorry, I just needed to clear my mind."

"Clear your mind from what?" Juni asked, looking rather uncomfortable that there was something about Ella that he was not the first to know about.

"Ella got into a bad fight with Fred and George this morning," Katie said as they sat at the end of what would be the Ravenclaw table. Ella's brother, Jackson, was sitting ways down the same table and Cho kept staring at him.

"What was it this time?" Juni asked, irritated that the twins had provoked Ella into an episode yet again.

"They were upset because Malfoy was making fun of the fact that their brooms are a bit of an older model and they told me that I didn't understand when I tried to talk to them," Ella explained bitterly, slathering an excess of mayonnaise onto her turkey sandwich. "Told me that I don't know what it's like to struggle." She bit into her sandwich as if she was biting into one of the twin's heads.

"No! They didn't!" Juni said. If there was anyone who didn't understand that particular kind of struggle, it was Juni. His parents were both doctors, his father a surgeon and his mother a psychiatrist. Their family was very well off but Juni was still one of the least spoiled and most humble people that Ella knew. Hell, Ella was even more spoiled than Juni.

"Yes, they very much did," Ella said, pouring herself some pumpkin juice.

"And what did you say back?" Cho asked.

"I told them about how tight things have been since that arse left us and that they're jerks for assuming that they're the only people who struggle. Like, I _really_ went in on them. I was sobbing while I was trying to yell at them, it wasn't pretty."

"She's right," Katie agreed.

"So then what happened?" Cho said, tearing her gaze away from Ella's brother.

"Nothing happened after that. I ran out of the changing room and went straight to my room, grabbed a book, and walked around the grounds. I didn't really feel like talking to anyone."

"So you haven't talked to them since? I was kind of hoping you had," Katie said with a bit of grimace.

"No, and I don't plan on it," Ella said stubbornly, launching herself into a conversation with Juni about Muggle bands that the both of them liked. That night at dinner Ella did not sit in between Fred and George like she usually did, she made sure that Katie, Alicia, Angelina, and Lee kept her separate from them. She didn't so much as look at either of them for the rest of the night.


	14. Apologies

When Ella completely ignored them that night Fred and George decided that did not like it when Ella was that upset with them. They had to figure out how to get right with her because they both knew deep down that they were in the wrong. They sat together in the common room, secluded in a corner with their heads together like they often did.

"How are we going to make this up to her?" George wondered aloud.

"I dunno," Fred said, "she's your girlfriend."

George smacked Fred on the shoulder. "She is not my girlfriend! She's my friend, and she's your friend too. You should be just as sorry as I am, if not more."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You went way harder on her than I did! You just had to go on about her 'perfect' family and all. That's probably what set her off!"

"You said something first!"

George sat back in his chair and blew out a huge breath, rubbing his temples. "Alright, alright, fine. We both messed up, let's leave it at that."

"Agreed," Fred sighed and also leaned back. "So what are we gonna do?"

"I dunno. We could buy her some candies and stuff on the next Hogsmeade trip?"

"But we've already done that so many times."

"You got any better ideas?"

"Yeah," Fred said with a smirk, "You could propose."

"Oh, sod off! You're the worst."

"I know. But anyways, the next Hogsmeade trip isn't for like two weeks and we need to get right with her now." But George had a blank expression on his face that Fred had figured out meant that George was not listening. Then he snatched a piece of parchment off a nearby table and a quill and began to write furiously on it. "What is it, Georgie? What've you got?"

"I'm writing to Mum," George mumbled and continued to scribble on his piece of parchment for a considerably long time. "Go up and grab the map, we have to send this by tonight," George said, sealing up the letter and signing it.

Fred dashed off to get the map and came back in under a minute, and they set off to the Owlery. George explained the rather simple yet incredibly sweet plan that he had hatched on the way there and Fred had no doubt in his mind that it would definitely get them back on Ella's good side. Upon their arrival at the owlery, they chose one of the owls that would have their letter delivered within a few short hours, so hopefully, their mother would send them a package in return when the morning came.

* * *

The morning after Ella's fight with the twins, Sunday morning, Ella found herself eating breakfast with Juni, Katie, and Cho at the Ravenclaw table again. Everyone was a little tentative to conversate with Ella today, she was even snappier than she had been the previous day.

"Are you still refusing to speak to them?" Katie asked her quietly.

"Yes," Ella said through gritted teeth. "If they want to speak with me then they can apologize. I'm not the one who was in the wrong."

"Okay," Juni said, "but you yelled at them too. I think you all have some apologizing to do." And Ella gave him that look that she did when she knew that Juni was right, but she wasn't happy about it, nor would admit it. Especially not when she was in such a sour mood.

"Cho," Ella snapped, "would you please stop staring at Jackson? It's not going to happen! Besides, he has it for Angelina. So you might as well stop while you're ahead."

"Oh," Cho said dejectedly, "right. Sorry, Ella."

Ella sighed and slowly ran her hands through her red hair and tugged. "No, I'm sorry, Cho. I didn't mean to snap at you. I'm just in a bad mood."

"Really?" Juni said. "I never would have been able to tell." Ella kicked him under the table.

And then Katie Bell saw Fred and George heading over to them, George holding a decently sized parcel. "Uh oh," Katie said and nudged Ella to warn her.

Fred and George approached the table and Ella paid them no attention. Fred cleared his throat and still, nothing. The two twins exchanged looks. Apparently, they had thought it would be easier than this.

"Good morning, Ella," George said brightly. Ella barely even moved her head in acknowledgment.

"We'd like to talk to you, Ella," Fred said. "Alone," he added, eyeing the other two girls and Juni. The three of them cleared out quickly despite Ella's warning _don't-you-dare-leave-me_ glares. When they were gone, Fred and George sat down on either side of her and Ella's shifted uncomfortably. They placed the parcel in front of her.

"And what's this?" Ella said haughtily, pushing her glasses up on her nose.

"A peace offering," Fred said, offering her a big smile.

"A peace offering? That's all I get? A peace offering? You're not going to apologize or —"

"Yes, we are," George said, cutting her off before she could go on another rampage. "Ella, we are deeply sorry for what we said to you and we hope, from the bottom of our hearts, that you will forgive us." Ella gave him one of the most irritated expressions he had ever seen her make. "We're serious this time."

"We really are sorry," Fred added. "We were really big prats...especially me, and we wanted to make it up to you," he nudged the box towards her, "so we got you this."

Ella eyed them suspiciously but reached to unwrap the gift anyways. As she removed the wrappings, her eyes brightened. What she found was a plethora of Fizzing Whizbees, her favorite, and big black jumper with a light pink "E" worked into the front of it. Her eyes shone with tears, but not angry tears this time. She cursed herself for having such a wild emotions. One minute she was ready to rip their heads off, the next, she was moments away from crying because she was happy, a trait she got from her mother. "What's this?" She asked them.

"We wrote Mum last night and told her we needed her to make this for you immediately. We figured you would like it," Fred said. "And Mum would basically do anything for you."

"Yeah, besides," George said smiling hugely at Ella, "who said you aren't a Weasley?"

"Oh!" Ella said in a fit of emotion and wrapped her arms so tightly around George's neck that she almost knocked him off the bench. Fred watched with amused eyes and winked at his brother. "I'm sorry too!" Ella said, but it was muffled by George's shoulder. She pressed a loud kiss to his cheek and then did the same to George.

"I really am sorry that I yelled at you guys...and that I called you jerks," Ella said blushing. "It wasn't your fault that you didn't know about my dad and stuff, I mean, how could you? I never told you."

Fred shrugged. "It's not big deal, we're over it. Aren't we, Georgie?"

George nodded, but he seemed more concerned about Ella's burly seventh year brother, Jackson, strolling towards them looking rather unhappy. Before Ella and the twins had become close friends, Jackson had adored the twins. But in the last two years, he had become very overprotective of Ella and rarely ever regarded the twins with more than a glare.

"What d'you have there, Ellie?" Jackson asked, leaning over her shoulder.

Ella rolled her eyes and decided to play it up, just to annoy her older brother. "Fred and George's mum made me this jumper! Isn't it lovely, Jackie?" She gushed, making very certain to call him by his childhood nickname.

Jackson turned red and pursed his lips to keep from yelling at his little sister. She had just embarrassed the daylights out of him, but he didn't want to lash out at her, she had had a rough weekend. "Yeah, well," Jackson grumbled, looking rather defeated, "I'm taking some of these." And he took a box the Fizzing Whizbees, Ella and the twins sniggering as they watched him walk away.


	15. Ella's More Important Than Quidditch

Ella awoke on the morning of the Quidditch match between Slytherin and Gryffindor feeling a great deal better than she probably should have given the circumstances. Some strange things had been going on at Hogwarts, stranger than usual, at least. Filch's cat had been petrified and there had been strange writings on the wall written in blood. It truly was a scary ordeal and it worried Ella, but she couldn't help but feel good.

Her marks were fantastic as usual, even with that oaf, Lockheart, teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts, Quidditch practice had been going fabulously, and Ella and the twins had been getting up to more shenanigans than ever, and not a single detention! She flounced over to Katie's bed, for Ella had woken up uncharacteristically early because there was a Quidditch match today, and she hopped on top of Katie.

"Good morning, my sunshine! Come on, it's time to wake up!" Ella said as she poked Katie's face.

"Oh god, you were so much more manageable during first year," Katie groaned, "Y'know, sometimes I wish you had never met Fred and George. I feel like you'd be a whole lot easier to deal with if you hadn't."

Ella rolled off of Katie but settled for tugging on her arm instead. "The world may never know," she mused and continued to get Katie out of bed. As Katie and Ella were in the process of getting dressed Hermione came into their room, always a bright and chipper morning person.

"Good morning, you two! Good luck on the game today!" She said, smiling at them.

"Thanks 'Mione!" Ella replied. "And how's the uh — 'Remedial Potions' going?" Ella asked her while arching an eyebrow and smirking.

"Good. I'm set to be starting tomorrow morning."

"Excellent." Ella winked at Hermione. "Good luck with that."

After pulling on her robes Katie brushed past Ella to go down to the common room. "I would ask what that was about, but in all honesty, I don't even want to know." Ella laughed and followed Katie Ella had changed into her scarlet Gryffindor robes she was stroking the puzzle piece necklace that Juni had given her for good luck. She was standing next to Katie, holding hands, a kind of ritual they had started, and Fred and George were on her other side. They were listening to one of Oliver's trademark pre-game speeches.

* * *

After Ella had changed into her scarlet Gryffindor robes she was stroking the puzzle piece necklace that Juni had given her for good luck. She was standing next to Katie, holding hands, a kind of ritual they had started, and Fred and George were on her other side. They were listening to one of Oliver's trademark pre-game speeches.

"Slytherin has better brooms than us," he said. "No point denying it. But we've got better _people_ on our brooms. We've trained harder than they have, we've been flying in all weathers —"

Ella missed the next part of what Wood was saying because George leaned down slightly to mutter to her, "Too true, I haven't been properly dry since August." Ella had to bite her lip to keep from laughing.

Wood then turned to Harry, his chest heaving overdramatically as it tended to do. "It'll be down to, Harry, to show them that a Seeker has to have something more than a rich father. Get to that Snitch before Malfoy or die trying, Harry, because we've got to win today, we've got to."

"So no pressure, Harry," Fred said and winked at him.

Ella was filled with the sudden urge to slap Oliver upside the head. What was he thinking saying "get to the Snitch or die trying" to twelve year old? As if Harry didn't have enough on his plate already! And Ella had a weird feeling that Wood was so hellbent on winning this specific match because of a certain Slytherin Quidditch captain, whom Oliver had this strange vendetta against.

When Ella walked out onto the pitch her eyes immediately scanned the crowd for Juni, Cho, and Jackson, and she found them all rather easily. Cho seemed to be keeping her distance from Jackson today which Ella was relieved about. Cho's crush on her brother had always creeped Ella out. _You hypocrite, what would Ginny say if she found out you have a massive crush on her brother?_ The thought entered her mind before she could stop it and it shook her to her very core. Did she have a crush on George Weasley, one of her best friends? _Yes._ Her mind answered her. But she tried to shake the thought from her head as she saw Flint and Wood "shaking hands." That meant the match was about to start.

Ella was racing around on the field trying to snag the Quaffle. She saw a Bludger almost knock Harry in the head but George swooped in hit it away from, but it just changed directions and shot after Harry. That certainly was odd. Especially because she just so happened to see it do the same thing again after Fred had smacked it away from Harry. Ella made a mental note to stay clear of Harry as much as she could, that Bludger seemed to have it out for him.

A few seconds later Ella was so concerned with getting the lead that she hadn't even noticed that she was zooming right past Harry, Fred, and George in order to keep one of the Slytherin Beaters away from Angelina, who was trying to score. The rogue Bludger was buzzing around all of them. Before she could even realize what was happening, she was in the exact wrong place at the exact wrong time and —

SMACK.

The Bludger collided hard with the back of Ella's head and she was knocked unconscious almost immediately. Her body slipped from her Cleansweep and started to fall from the sky, her broom following closely. George had seen the whole thing and immediately abandoned Fred and Harry and dived down after Ella. If he was lucky, he could catch her before she smashed into the ground. He didn't even care that he had left Fred with the Bludger, they had been calling for a time out anyways. Fortunately, he reached Ella just in time before she hit the ground and he scooped her up into his arms and got her down to the ground safely.

Madam Hooch blew her whistle loudly and the match came to a halt. George gently laid Ella down on the muddy ground and stooped over her to shield her from the rain. "Ella! _Ella, wake up!_ Oh god, please don't be dead, Donnie, come on!"

"She's not dead, you idiot!" Angelina said as the rest of the Gryffindor team came to crowd around Ella's unconscious form. Katie looked extremely scared. "She just knocked out. Look, she's breathing,"

"Alright, alright!" Madam Hooch said as she pushed through the players. "Give her some air, don't all crowd around her at once."

"What happened?" Wood said as the Gryffindor team huddled near Ella as Madam Hooch examined her and the Slytherins in the crowd went wild. "Fred, George, why were you not doing your jobs? One of our Chasers is unconscious and one of the Bludgers stopped Angelina scoring. We're going to lose, people!"

"We were twenty feet above Angelina, stopping the other Bludger from murdering Harry, Oliver," George said angrily. "Someone's fixed it — it won't leave Harry alone. It hasn't gone for anyone else all game and Ella just happened to get in its way. The Slytherins must have done something to it. And who cares if we're losing," George said, " _look_ at Ella!" There was clear worry etched onto his face, and then he realized something hot and wet on the hand that was cradling her head. Oh, Merlin, it was her blood!

Then Ella's eyes fluttered open slowly and she slurred, "'Orge?" Which George assumed was supposed to be his name. She looked incredibly confused and her pupils were blown out. Then, Ella rolled onto her side and vomited up her breakfast and passed back out. George could see all the blood on his hand and the gash in the back of Ella's head. It made his heart thunder and his stomach do flips in the worst way possible.

"I'm sorry Wood," Madam Hooch said, "but I'm afraid there's no way Miss Stirling can continue playing after this. She'll have to be taken to Madam Pomfrey."

"I'll take her," George said hastily.

"You will not!" Oliver said, scandalized that George could even _think_ about leaving in the middle of a match.

"Wood, you sodding moron, look at her head! Someone has to take her!" George shot back furiously. No one had ever seen George talk to Oliver like that, or anyone talk to Oliver like that, really.

"No," Jackson boomed as he finally worked his onto the pitch, followed by Juni, Cho, Dean Thomas, who all seemed to be extremely worried about Ella. "I'll take her. I'm her brother."

"Yes, I know, Stirling. Very well," Madam Hooch said. "Accio stretcher!" Madam Hooch bellowed and a stretcher game flying to meet them. She helped Jackson, Juni, and George carefully load Ella onto it and Jackson and Juni left, followed by Dean and Cho, all using magic to levitate Ella so as not to jostle her around too much.

"Now," Oliver said once Ella was "safely" off of the pitch, "we need to figure out what to do about this Bludger. Fred, George — hey! George!" Oliver said and snapped his fingers in George's face to get him to stop staring after Ella. "Focus, man! We have a game to play!" George didn't think he had ever wanted to cave someone's skull in as bad as he wanted to cave in Oliver's.


	16. Jackie

Harry was rushed to the hospital wing after Lockheart had deboned his entire arm, and when he arrived Ella was still knocked out. Although the nasty gash seemed to be healed up nicely. There was still dried blood matted in her hair still, though. Juni, Cho, Jackson and Dean Thomas were all standing by, waiting for Madam Pomfrey to give them and update, but Madam Pomfrey's attention shifted to Harry rather quickly. She was not pleased at all.

"You should have come straight to me!" She said, poking and prodding at the sad, limp, remainder of what had been Harry's arm. "I can mend bones in a second — but growing them back —"

"You will be able to, won't you?" Harry asked desperately.

"I'll be able to, certainly, but it will painful," Said Madam Pomfrey. "You'll have to stay the night with Miss Stirling. I'd said she has it better off than you do, seeing as how she doesn't have to regrow any bones."

After Ron and Hermione had helped Harry into his pajamas and choke down his first bit of Skele-Gro, they began to talk about the Quidditch game. "That was some catch you made. Malfoy's face...he looked ready to kill…" Ron said, grinning.

"I want to know how he fixed that Bludger," said Hermione darkly, glancing over at the unconscious Ella who looked almost as if she was dead.

Soon the entirety of the Gryffindor Quidditch team had arrived to see Ella and Harry, George all but sprinting over to Ella's bedside. Fred and Katie exchanged smiles. "Unbelievable flying, Harry," Fred said. "I've just seen Marcus Flint yelling at Malfoy. Something about having the Snitch on top of his head and not noticing. Malfoy didn't seem too happy."

They had brought all kinds of sweets and juices for a party for Ella and Harry, they had hoped Ella would have been awake by now, but she was not. Madam Pomfrey came rushing in to shoo them away from the hospital wing. "These two need to rest! Potter has thirty-three bones to regrow and Miss Stirling is severely concussed! You cannot be making all this racket, she needs to heal! Out! OUT!"

"But she's out cold!" Fred protested as Madam Pomfrey ushered the entire team, including George, out the door. "She can't even hear us!"

"Out, Mr. Weasley!"

When Madam Pomfrey returned to make sure Ella and Harry were properly healing Jackson quietly asked, "Can I please stay, Madam Pomfrey?"

Madam Pomfrey regarded him with soft eyes, Jackson looked as if he wanted to cry. "Yes, Stirling, you can stay."

* * *

Ella awoke Sunday morning with a splitting headache and she stirred in her bed. She opened her eyes slowly and hissed as the bright lights made her head throb. She closed them again quickly and groaned. Where was she and why was she in so much pain? She sat up as slowly and as carefully as possible, shielding her eyes so she could open them again. Was she in the hospital? But why? She couldn't remember a thing. There was no one in the room with her except for Jackson, sleeping in a chair with his head on the foot on Ella's bed, and someone in a bed surrounded by tall curtains.

"Hey, Jackson," Ella said hoarsely and poked Jackson in the arm.

"Huh?" Jackson said loudly, waking up startled, and Ella cringed at his booming voice. He looked at Ella and she literally saw the relief radiating off of him. "Oh, thank Merlin! You're awake! You've been asleep for almost twenty-four hours and I didn't think —"

"Jackson," Ella reminded him quietly, "can you lower the volume please?" She gestured to her head.

"Oh right," Jackson said more quietly, "sorry. Do you remember anything?" Ella shook her head. "Well, a rogue Bludger got you in the head and it knocked you out pretty bad, you were bleeding a lot. Madam Pomfrey said that you're severely concussed but you should feel better by the end of the day."

"Oh god," Ella groaned and put her pounding head in her hands. "Anything else?"

"Yeah, you threw up and it was almost on George." Ella looked absolutely mortified. "But, you guys won the game."

Ella smiled. "Did they only play with two Chasers?"

"No," Jackson said, "they put in Alicia Spinnet. She played really well, but I think I'm still partial to watching you play."

"How did I get here?"

"Well, you fell off your broom, but George got to you before you hit the ground, thank god. And then he was holding you while Madam Hooch was looking at you, and your blood was all over his robes. That's also when you almost puked on him. And then me, Juni, Cho, and Dean Thomas carried you here on a stretcher."

"Dean Thomas?"

"Yeah, apparently he's taken a liking to you. Not like George has but —"

"Jackson," Ella said, irritated with her brother's insistence that George liked Ella.

"How can you deny that he likes you? Madam Pomfrey basically had to drag him out of here yesterday. And he came back three times to check on you. He likes you. But anyways, yeah, Dean Thomas came. He said you've always been really great to him about his drawings and stuff. I guess that meant something to him or something."

"Figures," Ella said with a snort. "I wouldn't expect you to understand anything artistic, you're too much of a brute."

"Oh yeah," Jackson, laughing, "you're definitely feelings better. You wouldn't be giving me shit if you weren't."

"I guess you're right," Ella said, the pain in her head ebbing away slowly. Thank goodness for magic, she was certain that if Madam Pomfrey hadn't given her something then she would probably have a migraine for the rest of the week.

"Oh," Jackson said, looking amused. "Also, Harry was up here with you all night, did you know?"

"No," Ella said, "what happened? Is that him behind the curtains?"

"No, he got let out earlier this morning. Madam Pomfrey wouldn't tell me what's behind the curtains," Jackson said and chuckled. "But get this. Lockheart tried to mend Harry's arm because he broke it. But the idiot _deboned Harry's entire arm._ All the bones! Completely gone!"

Jackson started laughing and Ella laughed with him, but she stopped quickly because the laughter made her head throb. Her head felt better, but she was still incredibly uncomfortable and Jackson could see it.

"Ellie, I'm so sorry," Jackson said, his shoulders sagging. "You got hurt on my watch. I feel so bad." Jackson Stirling was big and burly, he intimidated many and most people would never believe that he had actual emotions. But he was quite sensitive when it came to Ella, he had always been extremely protective of her, especially when their father had started drinking.

Ella shrugged. "S'not your fault. Quidditch is a dangerous sport, you know that."

"Yeah, Ellie, I know, but if ma finds out that I let your skull get busted open she'll —"

"Jackie, it's fine," Ella said. Jackson and Ella often referred to each other by these nicknames. But neither of them liked it when other people did it. That's why Ella was so sour when Fred and George referred to her as Ellie. "My head feels better, but I just want to go back to my own dorm. Do you think Madam Pomfrey will let me go today?"

"I dunno," Jackson said. "I'll go find her and ask." And he got up to find Madam Pomfrey.

"Hey, Jackson," Ella called out to her brother before he could leave the room. "Do you really think George likes me?"

Jackson rolled his eyes and looked as if he wanted to gag. But the look on Ella's face wore him down more easily than he would have liked. "Yes," Jackson said a bit disgustedly, the thought of any boy with his baby sister in any sense made his skin crawl. "I know he does."

"Oh," Ella said, hating herself because she could feel herself smiling. "Well, if it makes you feel any better," she said, beaming at her brother, "Angelina likes you too." Jackson flushed and opened the door, darting out of it quickly so Ella wouldn't see the ecstatic look on his face.

When Jackson returned with Madam Pomfrey she gave Ella another potion and told her that she was free to leave, but that she should take it easy on herself for the day. Ella was relieved to hear that Madam Pomfrey had sent owls to all of Ella's professors telling them to excuse Ella for not having her homework completed on Monday, that she needed to rest. And Ella spent the rest of her day cuddled up in her multitude of blankets on her bed, practically swimming in her large Weasley jumper.


	17. Nirvana

The next couple months after Ella's concussion had been slightly uneventful for her (except for Quidditch practices. George was still mad at Oliver for not being more concerned about Ella's concussion), and she wished that she could say the same for everyone else in the school. Ever since the useless "Dueling Club" that Lockheart had organized (when Harry revealed that he was a Parselmouth) more than a few people were now convinced that Harry was the Heir of Slytherin. And there had been another attack, this one claiming two victims, Nearly headless nick and a Muggle-born boy named Justin Finch-Fletchley, which caused even more people to believe Harry was the heir. Neville Longbottom had started carrying around protective charms and Ginny Weasley had been having nightmares almost nightly. The amount of times that Ginny had come running to Ella in the middle of the night, crying, was countless, and it made Ella dread leaving her for the holidays.

But soon, the day came when Ella had to bid goodbyes to her school friends. "Good luck with the potion," Ella whispered in Hermione's ear as she hugged her goodbye. No one was supposed to know that Harry, Ron, and Hermione were brewing Polyjuice Potion, but Hermione had gotten the idea to use Myrtle's bathroom in the first place from Ella and Ella was very trustworthy, so Hermione had confided in her.

"You'll come and see me then?" Ella had asked the twins as she hugged them goodbye as well. "I really want you to meet Riley and my ma." Ella had been talking about Fred and George for about three years now, so Ella's mother knew plenty about them, but she had never actually met them before. She was getting quite impatient.

"Yeah, if your brother promises to not beat our heads in the second we walk through the door," Fred said.

"I assure that I am more than capable of keeping Jackson at bay," Ella said, laughing. "I've got to go meet the girls and Juni now, but write me when you two decide when you're coming," She said as she walked away from them and went to find her friends so they could board the train home.

"Ooh, taking your relationship to the next level with George?" Katie said, looping her arm through Ella's as they boarded the train. "Meeting the mother! How exciting!"

"A wedding can't be far behind," Juni said, laughing and following Katie and Juni into a compartment.

"I hate you," Ella said, throwing her things overhead and pouting, "the both of you."

"Pft, yeah okay, Ella," Juni said and shoved her.

"Where's Cho?" Ella asked, pulling a box of Fizzing Whizbees out of her bag.

Katie shrugged. "She said that she wanted to sit with her friend Marietta."

"Oh," Ella said with a sneer. "I don't like her. I get a weird vibe from her."

So even without Cho, the three of them had a wonderful train ride home. Ginny stopped in on occasion as well as Fred and George. At some point during the train ride, the three of them decided that the train was going too slowly and that they needed a nap. Juni and Katie both took the cushioned benches while Ella elected to sleep on the floor, she could practically fall asleep anywhere. Before she knew it they were pulling into King's cross and Juni was shaking Ella awake. The moment that Ella saw her mother standing on the platform, holding a babbling Riley, she immediately her stresses melting away.

* * *

Ella was rushing around the house, cleaning and dusting everything she could. It was two days after Christmas and Fred and George were coming to visit Ella, and she wanted to make a good impression. Although, Riley kept running around and knocking over things that Ella had tidied up.

"Honey, when are your friends getting here?" Ella's mother called from her room.

"Their letter said they'd be here at like half past noon," Ella said and glanced at her watch, it was now a quarter past twelve, they would be arriving soon.

"Okay, well I'm still getting dressed so can you feed Riley please?"

"Yeah, ma!" Ella said, tucking her wand behind her ear and scooping up her little brother, who was now well past two years old and headed to the kitchen. Ella put Riley in his high chair and began fixing his lunch, leftovers over her mother's cheesy potato casserole and sliced fruit. Riley began to whine and squirm in his chair.

"Want out! Want out!" He yelled childishly, banging his grubby little fists on the tray of his high chair. Ever since Riley's second birthday, he had been rather fussy about being in his high chair, he was apparently sick of this seating arrangement and wanted to try something new. "Ewwa! Ewwa, out!" He continued to shout, saying Ella's name in the only way he knew how.

"No, Riley," Ella said sternly, placing his lunch in front of him, which seemed to calm him down some. "Do you want help eating?"

"No!" Riley said, his near hissy fit forgotten as he dug his fingers into his food, shoving it into his mouth messily.

"Jackson!" Ella yelled, "can you please come make sure Riley eats okay? I need to go get ready."

"No!" Jackson yelled back from his room. "You've been ready for hours, I'm busy! You watch him!"

"Jackson, you —" Ella was about to say a very foul word, but then remembered that Riley had been picking up words very easily recently, "— jerk! Get your lazy butt down here and watch him!"

"Ella! Stop calling your brother names and Jackson, come help your sister! She has guests coming over!" Margaret scolded her two kids, who more often than not, were arguing.

"Fine!" Jackson grunted loudly and began to stomp down the stairs.

"Stupid knobhead," Ella muttered to him as he passed her.

"Alright, that's it!" Jackson shouted and drew his wand at Ella. "Say one more nasty thing to me, I dare you!"

"Oh yeah? And what are you gonna do?" Ella asked tauntingly, pulling her own wand. "Try and hit me with one of the three jinxes you know so I can easily block it?" Ella and Jackson had continued to yell at each other until their mother stormed into the living room where they were fighting. During all the commotion, Riley had dropped his sippy cup of pumpkin juice and had begun crying loudly.

"Jackson Agathe Stirling, you leave your sister alone!" Margaret said as she picked up Riley and tried to calm him down.

"She started it!" Jackson said, jabbing a finger at Ella.

"I did not, you thickhead! You did!" Ella retorted.

"I don't care who started it, Donella Rose Stirling!" Ella cringed at the use of her full name. "Honestly, I'd figure you two were old enough by now to stop fighting like you were —"

The doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" Jackson said rather excitedly. He knew it was probably Fred and George, and he wanted to be the one to meet them at the door.

"Jackson, no!" Ella said, mortified. Riley had left the table a mess and was still crying loudly. Ella's once well groomed hair was now starting to frizz up again, and Margaret still had one curler in her hair. And Jackson wasn't even dressed yet! He was still in his pajamas.

Jackson pulled the door open and was ready to shoot a smart remark at Fred and George, but was shocked to be greeted with Mrs. Weasley's smiling face. "Oh," he said, surprised, "hello Mrs. Weasley."

"Hello, Jackson, dear! How are you? I figured I would come with Fred and George to make sure they got in all right. Is your mother home?" Mrs. Weasley rambled, not giving a chance to answer. Fred and George looked greatly embarrassed, which Jackson enjoyed.

"Yes, she's right inside. Please, come in." He shot Fred and George glares as they walked in with their mother.

"Oh, hello," Margaret said, a crying Riley still nestled on her hip and a singular curler left in her hair. "You must be Mrs. Weasley. It's so nice to finally meet you, Ella's told me so much." She looked completely frazzled, she was probably making a terrible first impression.

But rather than judging her, Mrs. Weasley looked at Margaret fondly. "Ah, I remember those days," Molly Weasley said, gesturing towards Margaret's slightly hectic state. "They really are such a fuss when they're that age aren't they?" Riley was still blubbering, but he seemed to be getting tired.

"Yes, yes they are," Margaret said, bouncing Riley to try and get him to stop crying.

"But they grow up too fast!" Molly said, glancing at her twin boys and then focusing back on Margaret. "I sometimes wish I could go back, don't you agree?"

Margaret looked at her other two children who were still glaring daggers at each other. "Too right you are…"

"Molly!" Mrs. Weasley said, shaking Margaret's free hand. "And you?"

"Margaret," she said, shaking Mrs. Weasley's hand. She seemed calmer now that Riley had stopped crying.

"Mammy, juice!" Riley said, rubbing his eyes. That was the reason he started crying in the first place was because he had dropped his juice. But no one had noticed due to all the yelling.

"Yes, okay, sweetheart," Margaret cooed at her youngest child. "If you'll excuse me, he just wants his pumpkin juice."

"Would you like me to hold him?" Molly asked. "I'm wonderful with boys, I've had six of them myself."

"Yes, that would be lovely, thank you," Margaret said and went to get Riley a new cup of pumpkin juice. She handed Riley to Mrs, Weasley and Mrs. Weasley nestled him on her hip just like his mother had done. "Hello, cutie," Mrs. Weasley said and Riley smiled at her, showing all his new baby teeth.

Mrs. Weasley turned to Ella, ignoring the fact that Riley was playing with her red hair. "How are you, dear? It's been so long since I've seen you! And look at you, you look so beautiful! No wonder Fred and George like being around you so much."

Ella blushed. "Hi, Mrs. Weasley. It's nice to see you too." They continued chatting, Ella not even saying hello to Fred or George yet until Margaret came back with Riley's sippy cup and the curler missing from her hair.

"Thank you," Margaret said warmly and gave Riley his pumpkin juice, which he sipped on greedily.

"Well," Mrs. Weasley said, "I don't want to take up too much of their time so I think I'll be going now. I had to apparate the boys here so I just wanted to come in and say hello! We'll have the fire on so when you're ready for me to come get them, just pop in and let us know and I'll be here in a jiffy." She shook Margaret's hand again kissed her on the cheek this time. "Lovely meeting you, Maggie. Can I call you that?"

"Feel free," Margaret said with a smile. "It was lovely meeting you too, Molly."

"Bye bye," Mrs. Weasley said in a baby voice to Riley and waved at him, she then hugged both Ella and Jackson before moving on to her sons, kissing them both on the cheek. "You behave." And then she was gone.

"So," Ella said awkwardly after a few moments of silence, the only noise being Riley slurping on his juice, "Ma, this is Fred, and this is George," she said, gesturing to each other the twins respectively.

"So nice to finally put faces to all of the stories Ella has told me!" Margaret said, shaking both of their hands. Ella watched with a painfully awkward expression.

"Nice to meet you too, Mrs. Stirling," Fred said and an odd sheen passed over Margaret's eyes. Ella grimaced.

"You can just call me Margaret," she said kindly, and smiled, disregarding Fred's slip up.

"Well," Ella said hastily, "now that introductions are over I think we'll be going to my room now." And she ushered Fred and George up the stairs hurriedly.

"Keep the door open!" Margaret called after them. "And I'll be making lunch soon so don't load up on sweets up there!"

Ella showed Fred and George to her room, which had changed once again. The walls were now a lovely cream color and light pinks accents were present in all of the furniture, which was similar in color to the walls. She had modeled it after her first visit to the Room of Requirement. It made her feel calm.

"So," Ella said, sitting down in the overstuffed armchair in the corner, "this is it." She gestured grandly to her room, "this is my humble abode. And I am so sorry about the mess that you walked into, we aren't usually like that."

"I find that hard to believe," said Fred, and he flopped himself onto Ella's plush bed, which was overflowing with soft blankets and fluffy pillows of miscellaneous colors. "Besides, we're used to it."

"Yeah, you're fine," George said. "Wow," he said, looking around her room. "Nice place, Ella. I had no idea it would be this big on the inside." Ella's room was very spacious, just like the rest of her house. It was quite misleading given the fact that her family lived in a small house, but it held three floors and many rooms. Many more rooms than it should have been able to.

"Undetectable Extension Charm," Ella said. "Ma cast it after I was born, she got tired of living in such a small house. We have three floors now and a basement," she said and popped a Fizzing Whizbee in her mouth, causing her to float a few inches effortlessly above her seat. "Technically, my parents paid way less for this house than what it's worth now and that's kind of illegal, but I'm not complaining about having a big room," she said with a shrug.

"That's awesome!" George said enthusiastically. "And you don't even care about breaking the _law_ now?" He smiled at her maliciously. "You're coming along nicely."

"Shut up," Ella said fondly, "you're such a prat." She didn't really mean it, but she had a tendency to call George names when he complimented her to cover up how smitten it made her. "Wanna see what Ma got me for Christmas?" And she showed them the new record player that she had gotten for Christmas, along with the three new vinyls that Jackson had given her. They were all Muggle albums that Ella already had the cassettes for, but she wanted the records too.

 _"Muggle music?"_ Fred asked, grimacing slightly. "You're not gonna make us listen to that are you?"

Ella bared her teeth in a grin. "Y'know, I didn't plan on it at first but it sounds like a _brilliant_ idea now that you mention it!" She pulled out a record that had a naked baby underwater and a Muggle American dollar hanging from a hook. Fred and George looked at very questioningly. "This," Ella said as if she was explaining her most prized possession, "is Nevermind by Nirvana, one of the best albums to ever grace the planet." She clearly had a very high opinion of this band.

"Nirvana?" Fred said as if it was the oddest word to ever roll off of his tongue. "What kind of music is that?"

"Rock," Ella said as she giddily put the record in her player. "This album came out last year and it changed — my — life," she added rather dramatically. "Just listen," she said as she put the needle on the record, "you're gonna love this."

When the sound of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" started to fill the room Fred looked at her incredulously. "You listen to this kind of music?" Ella understood why he was surprised. She was a small ginger girl with glasses and a freckled face, she looked sweet, she always did her homework, and she had always been cast as "the good kid." She figured most people would be shocked when they found out that her music library consisted mostly of alternative and rock music, some of it quite heavy and angry.

"Mhm," Ella said proudly as she closed her eyes and smiled, leaning her head back against the back of her chair. "I love it. If you listen to the lyrics they're so meaningful. Just listen." And Ella let the entire record play for them. She had even noticed that George was slightly bopping his head along to the melody and Fred was tapping his foot rhythmically. She wondered if they even knew they were doing it.

When the record stopped Ella took the needle off of it and looked at Fred and George anxiously, biting her lip. "So, what d'you think?"

"Honestly," George said, and Ella steeled herself for their mockery of her in taste in music, "that was pretty wicked. Do you have more?"

"Really?" Ella said, completely relieved and she felt her head go all swimmy when he complimented one of her favorite bands. "And yeah, I have one more album of theirs. I can play if you guys want. Are you cool with that, Fred?"

"I'm game," Fred said from Ella's bed, laying back and putting his arms behind his head. He had to give it to Ella, he had actually really liked that album and he was interested to hear more.

They got about halfway through _Bleach_ before Ella's mother called them down to lunch. Margaret was incredibly interested in the twins, as was Riley, and it made Jackson scowl and stab at his food. Riley had started to whine again, and before he could throw another tantrum Ella grabbed him and let him sit on her lap. He found the fact that Fred and George were identical very funny and kept getting their names mixed up. Fred tried to give Riley his wand to play with ("Absolutely not, Fred Weasley! What is wrong with you?" Ella had said.) but Ella shot him down.

After lunch, Ella and the twins retreated back to Ella's room and she continued to show them bands that she liked. They flew through vinyls of Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica, a brand new band that Ella had found named Tool, and Ella's personal favorite, The Vaselines. George particularly liked The Vaselines, which made Ella's stomach flip. It was just before seven and the time for Fred and George to return home had come. Ella was quite pleased with how her day had gone. Her, Fred, and George sat in her room and listened to Ella's Muggle music all day long. They ate sweets (George was particularly good at catching Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans in his mouth from across the room), talked about Quidditch, and Ella helped the twins plan some of their next pranks on Filch.

"You're sure you won't stay for dinner?" Margaret asked as she hugged the boys goodbye, which made Ella flush with embarrassment.

"Yeah, our parents wanted us home early anyways," George said. "Another time."

"Okay," Margaret said and picked up Riley who was tugging at her pant leg and saying, "Uppies!" over and over. "Say bye to Fred and George, Riley!"

"Bye, Gred! Bye, Forge!" Riley said happily, repeating one of Fred and George's jokes without even realizing it.

"I'll see you around school, you guys," Jackson said to the twins, puffing his chest out to try and intimidate Fred and George, but they were intimidated easily. He shook each of their hands as if he was Oliver Wood trying to break Marcus Flint's fingers.

"I'll wait outside with you," Ella said, in a rush to get them out of her house and out of the embarrassing company of her family. "Your mam will be here soon."

And Ella was right because within seconds of the three of them walking outside —

CRACK.

Mrs. Weasley had appeared before them, smelling as if she had just been in the kitchen for hours. "Hello again, dear! I trust my boys were well behaved?"

"Oh yes, Mrs. Weasley," Ella said, smiling, "very well behaved."

"Lovely," Mrs. Weasley said. "Well, I hate to leave in a rush but I've got dinner on so I really should be getting home. Thank you for letting them over." She kissed Ella on the cheek and hugged her goodbye. "Fred, you first," she said and holding her arm out to her son.

Fred hugged Ella goodbye and then went to go grab Mrs. Weasley's arm.

CRACK.

Mrs. Weasley and Fred were gone and George used this small window of time to his advantage.

"So, I know it's kind of late but," George said while digging around in his pocket, "I got you this for your birthday." He pulled out a seemingly handmade necklace and offered it to Ella. It was made from a black leather cord to go around Ella's neck and a small rough rose quartz crystal was attached to the cord by a wire. "W-well, I made it actually. I found this old crystal and I figured you would like it because you like pink so much, y'know?" He hadn't found it. He had sold some of his old spell books so he could get the crystal.

"George!" Ella gasped, eagerly taking the necklace from his hands and examining it. "I love it!" It was just the right combination of rough and soft, just like Ella. She put it around her neck and looked down at it fondly, and then looked back at George with misty eyes. She flung herself at him in a hug and squeezed him tight. "It's perfect, thank you," She said softly. Then she heard a loud crack and she put several feet between her and George.

"Come on, Georgie," Mrs. Weasley said, "dinner's almost ready."

"Okay, Mum," George said and hugged Ella once more before grabbing his mother's arm just like Fred had.

"Oh, and Ella dear," Mrs. Weasley said, "please do consider coming over for dinner sometime. With Ron staying at school for the holidays we have an extra place at the table."

"I will," Ella said politely while still looking at George. "Thank you," she mouthed to him and waved just before —

CRACK.

Mrs. Weasley and George were gone and Ella was left standing outside of her house, fondling the crystal of her new necklace with a dopey grin on her face.


	18. Breaking Oliver's Nose

"Where the _hell_ is Ella?" Oliver growled as he paced around the Gryffindor locker room. "The match is starting any minute now, this is completely unacceptable," he muttered to himself. "Katie! You've _got_ to know where she is!"

"No, Oliver, I don't. I'm sorry, I really have no idea," Katie said helplessly, picking at her robes. She was actually quite nervous, Ella was never late, especially not this late and especially not late to Quidditch.

Oliver massaged his temples as the stress of the oncoming match set in. "Fine," he groaned, "Alica! We need you again today!" He barked at Alicia Spinnet, one of the reserve Chasers. She looked as though she didn't enjoy Oliver yelling at her for no good reason. "Well come on," he said, beckoning the rest of the team to follow him, "we're playing. With or without Ella." George followed Oliver absentmindedly. It really was odd for Ella to be missing Quidditch.

"Do you really not know where she is?" He asked Katie quietly as they walked onto the pitch. Oliver took off for a warm-up lap around the posts to blow off some steam.

"I really don't," She answered him just as quietly.

George sighed and Fred patted him on the shoulder comfortingly. George was just starting to mount his broom when Professor McGonagall came rushing out onto the field with a large purple megaphone.

George's stomach tied itself in knots.

"This match has been canceled," Professor McGonagall announced. Students began protesting immediately with boos and shouts and Oliver, who looked extremely devastated, landed in front of McGonagall.

"But, Professor!" She shouted desperately, "We've got to play — the cup — _Gryffindor_ —"

Professor McGonagall ignored him and continued to shout through her megaphone:

"All students are to make their way back to the House common rooms, where their Heads of Houses will give them further information. As quickly as you can, please!"

She lowered the megaphone and beckoned Harry, Fred, and George over to her.

"Potter, Weasleys, I think you'd better come with me. . ."  
The knot in George's stomach tightened as he wondered what she could possibly need them for. Harry, he understood, a lot of suspicious things had been happening that might have had to do with Harry. But what did he and Fred have to do with anything? Ron shoved his way over to them and Professor McGonagall told him that he better come along as well. This was in no way going to be good, he could tell. They followed Professor McGonagall into the school, wordlessly moving through hoards of complaining students.

"This will be a bit of a shock," said Professor McGonagall in a surprisingly gentle tone as they approached the infirmary. "There has been another attack...this time a _triple_ attack."

George's stomach didn't even feel like a stomach anymore, it didn't even feel like it was knotted anymore. It felt like an angry swarm of hornets were buzzing around in his abdomen. Professor McGonagall pushed the door open and he entered with Harry and his brothers.

Madam Pomfrey was bending over a fifth-year girl with long hair that George recognized as Penelope Clearwater, the Ravenclaw Prefect that Percy had a crush on. And on the bed next to her was —

" _Ella!_ " George had gasped just as Ron was groaning, " _Hermione!_ "

Ella lay disturbingly still, her eyes wide open and glassy. She was frozen position that indicated that she was probably trying to shield someone from something.

"They were found near the library," Professor McGonagall said. "I don't suppose any of you could explain this? It was on the floor next to them. . . ."

She was holding a small, circular mirror.

They all shook their heads, staring at their petrified friends.

"I will escort you back to Gryffindor tower," said Professor McGonagall heavily. " I need to address the students in any case."

* * *

George climbed through the portrait hole, and before Professor McGonagall could even enter the common room Oliver practically pounced on Fred and George.

"So where was she, huh?" Oliver demanded. He seemed incredibly furious. "Was she in the library again? Reading some stupid book about something stupid? Merlin, what a traitor!"

Before anyone could stop him, George threw a punch right at Oliver's nose and felt the slightest bit a satisfaction when he felt a crunch. Oliver's nose was broken and blood was pouring down onto his upper lip. George couldn't believe that Oliver had just said that about Ella. She was an amazing Chaser, who had been one of the reasons that the Gryffindor team was so strong. She was also one of his best friends, and George didn't take kindly to people talking sorely about his friends.

Oliver looked at George in complete and utter shock but didn't hit him back, there was no point, Professor McGonagall was already in the room.

"Detention, Weasley!" Professor McGonagall said angrily. "Now is not the time to be turning on each other!" She directed her attention at Oliver, said, " _Episkey,_ " and had his nose fixed in an instant. "Now," she cleared her throat and started to read from a roll of parchment:

"All students will return to their House common rooms by six o'clock in the evening. No student is to leave the dormitories after that time. You will be escorted to each lesson by a teacher. No student is to use the bathroom unaccompanied by a teacher. All further Quidditch training and matches are to be postponed. There will be no more evening activities."

The entirety of Gryffindor House was packed into the common room, listening to Professor McGonagall in grim silence. She rolled up the parchment she had been reading from and said in a somewhat choked voice, "I need hardly add that I have rarely been so distressed. It is likely that the school will be closed unless the culprit behind these attacks is caught. I would urge anyone who thinks they might know anything about them to come forward."

She slinked awkwardly out of the portrait hole, and the common room exploded into conversation.

"That's three Gryffindors, not counting a Gryffindor ghost, one Ravenclaw, and one Hufflepuff," said the twins' best friend, Lee Jordan, counting on his fingers. "Haven't _any_ of the teachers noticed that the Slytherins are all safe? Isn't it _obvious_ all this stuff's coming from Slytherin? The _Heir_ of Slytherin, the _monster_ of Slytherin — why don't they just chuck all the Slytherins out?" he roared, to nods and applause.

Percy was sitting in a chair behind Lee, and for the first time in his life that George could remember, he wasn't talking. He looked pale and slightly ill.

"Percy's in shock," George told Harry quietly. "That Ravenclaw girl — Penelope Clearwater — she's a prefect. I don't think he thought the monster would dare attack a _prefect._ " But George could tell that Harry was not all listening to him, and he went upstairs, murmuring to Fred as he passed, "I'm going to bed."

"I'll come too," Fred said and followed his brother up to the dormitories.

But neither of them went to sleep. Neither of them slept at all that night.


	19. A Ruined Moment

Summer had finally arrived at Hogwarts, but it wasn't nearly as fun as George had hoped. Ella and Hermione, along with all the others, were still petrified. Fred and George weren't the same without Ella, they had grown to care too much for her for her to be taken away from them like this. The twins, especially George, were a lot more irritable without Ella. It had taken Oliver Wood two whole weeks to get George to even stay in the same room with him long enough to apologize. Fred had hit Draco Malfoy with three jinxes one day because Draco had said, "Well, if she wasn't such a ruddy blood traitor then she wouldn't have gotten herself petrified."

Lee Jordan, Juniper Kyeong, and Katie Bell had been speculating behind the twins back because all of them had one thing in common, their best friend (or friends in Lee's case) had either been petrified or were being very distant. "I'm telling you, they aren't like this over holidays. They're usually fine when they don't have Ella."

"That's because Ella has never been bloody petrified over a holiday, Lee!" Katie told Lee, a little angrily. Ella's petrification had been wearing on her too. "I just hope we get some news on the Mandrake thing soon."

And that very next morning, just as Katie had wished, they got their news on the Mandrakes. But before Professor McGonagall could announce what her news was Oliver had bellowed, "Quidditch matches are back on!" as a guess and George looked like he wanted to break Oliver's nose a hundred times more.

Professor McGonagall waited until it was quiet again before continuing, "Professor Sprout has informed me that the Mandrakes are ready for cutting at last. Tonight, we will be able to revive those people who have been petrified." That was all George needed to hear and he tuned out for the rest of the announcement. It felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from his chest and he could breathe properly for the first time in months. They would finally get Ella back.

Just then Ginny, who had been sitting with them, got up and sat down next to Ron.

"What's she doing?" Fred asked in a voice that was much brighter than it had been for the past few weeks.

"No idea," George said. He could care less about what Ginny was doing right now, he was just concerned about how he was going to sneak up to the hospital wing to see Ella. But very soon, Ginny came scampering back over to them and sat down looking quite pale and frazzled. "All right, Ginny?" George asked her, a little more concerned. Ginny looked sick, and that was the last thing they needed right now. Ginny nodded slightly but didn't touch any of her food for the rest of the breakfast.

Sometime after breakfast George had managed to stealthily slip away from his class, that was being led to Potions by Professor Kettleburn who taught Care of Magical Creatures. He had told Fred that he was going to the loo but Fred didn't believe him in the slightest, but he let it slide. George was making his way down the corridors carefully so he could get to the hospital when he heard someone behind him say, "And where do you think you're going, Weasley? Shouldn't you be in Potions right now?"

George turned to face Professor McGonagall and decided, to be honest with a teacher who had just caught him for once. "I was going to the hospital wing."

"Why were you headed there? You know that visitors are prohibited!"

"I know, Professor, but I haven't seen Ella in weeks, and the news about the Mandrakes really inspired me to go and see her and I just couldn't wait any longer. I know it's useless to talk to a petrified person, she won't even remember when _she_ wakes up, but I just want to be there for her, y'know? I want to tell her that she's going to be alright."

Professor McGonagall was shocked, she had never seen one of the Weasley twins act so genuinely, and it brought a tear to hear eye, which she brushed away quickly. She cleared her throat before speaking so her voice wouldn't be so thick. "Very well, Weasley. I realize that this must be hard for you, seeing as how you're so close to Miss Stirling. I will allow this just this once. You may tell Madam Pomfrey that I have given you my permission."

"Thank you, Professor," George said before darting off in the direction of the infirmary. When he got there he informed Madam Pomfrey that he had Professor McGonagall's direct permission to be there, and she let him in hesitantly. When he saw Ella's motionless body again it sent a fresh pang of pain to his heart. She was still wearing the necklace he had given her.

He sat down next to her and started to speak, hoping Madam Pomfrey wasn't listening in. "Hi, Donnie," he said gently. George Weasley was an incredibly emotional person, he just preferred not to show anyone. But with Ella petrified, he saw no harm in showing his true colors for a bit. It's not like she would remember anyways. "I know you can't hear me, but I just want you to know that you're going to be alright," he said and held her cold, hard hand. Her fingers were splayed so he just laced his fingers through her, wishing she could close her fingers down on his hand like he had done to her.

"The Mandrakes are all ready, isn't that great? You'll be back to normal and insulting my intelligence in no time. Even though you think I'm brilliant," he said with a light chuckle, but he could feel a lump in his throat. "And you can get back to Juni too. He's been miserable without you, y'know. I mean, so have I, but he's been taking it especially hard. He cries almost every day and he writes to your mum all the time." George rubbed at his eyes. "And you can show me more music too, when you're awake. I've been listening to your records and cassettes, I hope that's alright. I had Katie get them from your dorm for me. I've been listening to The Vaselines a lot. They make me think of you. I miss you, Ella," he told her, his voice starting to shake. "I miss you like, _a lot_ , Donnie." He stopped talking because he heard people coming into the infirmary.

"Oh, so you _are_ up here?" Ron said when he walked in. "McGonagall said that she had run into you and — Merlin, George! Are you _crying_?"

"No, I'm not _crying_ ," George said rather sourly and got up, leaving the infirmary and slamming the door on his way out. His moment with Ella, if you could even call it that, had been ruined. He decided to skip the rest of Potions and showed up to his next class smoothly, no one had even noticed. Just when his day was starting to look up, it all came crashing down.

" _All students return to their House dormitories at once. All teachers return to the staff room. Immediately please._ "

George's heart started thundering, there was no way there could have been another attack. There just couldn't be. But when he got back to the Gryffindor common room, it was far worse than he could have ever imagined. Ginny had been taken into the chamber by the monster.


	20. Ella, Awakened

Ella's eyes blinked open slowly, and she became very aware very quickly of how stiff her body was.

"Take it easy, dear," she heard Madam Pomfrey's voice say to her. "You've been petrified for a few weeks now."

"A few weeks?" Ella tried to say, but her throat was far too dry to speak. Madam Pomfrey offered her a glass of water. Ella sat up slowly, her body sore and she was also realizing how hungry she was. Ella downed all the water in one go and she thought that water going down her throat may have been the most blissful feeling she had ever thought. She tried asking again, "Petrified? For two weeks?" She looked around the room and saw all of the previous victims. But what shocked her the most was that Penelope Clearwater and Hermione Granger were in beds next to her! Everyone else was still petrified, she must have been the first one to receive the antidote.

"Yes, Miss Stirling, a few weeks. You missed quite a lot, I must say."

"Is the monster gone?"

"Yes, it's all over," Madam Pomfrey said with a warm smile. "And if you feel well enough, you can go. There's a feast going on in the Great Hall to celebrate."

"If it's alright, I think I'll stay here with Hermione until she wakes up," Ella said, standing up and testing out her legs. They were a little shaky from being still for so long, but she could walk. Within the next fifteen minutes, both Hermione and Ella were awake and on their way to the Great Hall.

* * *

Ella walked into the Great Hall and was a little taken aback by what she saw. Everyone was in their pajamas! The first person that she looked for was her brother, Jackson. She saw him at the Ravenclaw table and ran towards him at all a full out sprint. "Jackson!" She screamed.

Jackson stood up and turned around in just the right amount of time to catch his little sister as she jumped on him. Ella wrapped her arms and legs around him like a koala, squeezing tight, and he hugged her right back. People around them cheered. "Oh god, Ellie! I'm so happy you're alright! I'm so sorry I was rude to you! I'll never be mean to you again!" He let her down but kept hugging her. Jackson and Ella had gotten into a fight the night before she was petrified and they hadn't even spoken the next morning. That had been running through his mind over and over for the past few months.

Ella laughed. She was surprisingly chipper for someone who had just spent almost the past two weeks as a statue. "I'm sorry too, Jackie. But I know you too well, you'll probably be mean to me in the next twenty minutes"

Jackson ignored her snide comment and pulled back, examining her, much like their mother tended to do. "How are you, though? Are you hurting? Are you okay?"

"I'm a little sore, but other than that I'm just really hungry and I think I'm going to —"

"ELLA!" Juni screamed and flung himself onto Ella's back, hugging his best friend tightly from behind. "I'm so happy you're back! I've been so miserable without you!"

Ella turned around and hugged her best friend, overcome with ecstatic giggling. "Juni! I missed you so much!"

"How could you miss me? You were petrified!" Juni covered his mouth and gasped, looking horrified. "Don't tell me you could think while you were like that? And you just had to lay there!"

Ella chuckled at Juni's reaction. "No, Juni, I don't even remember anything. I just know that if I could have thought, I would have missed you."

"Well," Juni said, his eyes looking somewhere over Ella's shoulder, "I would love to keep chatting, but I think someone wants to talk to you." Ella turned and followed Juni's gaze, her eyes landing on Fred and George, who looked the happiest she had ever seen them.

"You guys!" Ella yelled and ran at them too, pulling the both of them into a bone crushing hug. "I'm so glad to see you!"

" _You're_ glad to see _us_?" Fred said. "We weren't the ones who were bloody petrified!"

"Yeah!" George agreed, holding onto Ella for a bit longer than Fred had. "We're the ones who are glad to see _you_! We had no idea how long the Mandrakes would take and — Ella, are you listening to me?"

"Yeah, yeah," Ella said distractedly, eyeing the copious amounts of food on the table. "I'm just starving. I haven't exactly eaten in the past two weeks."

"Well, then by all means," Fred said, dramatically gesturing to Ella's usual seat at the table, "tuck in!"

Ella sat down and started piling food on her plate, a majority of it being pumpkin pasties. If Ella's mother ever found out that her first meal after being petrified was mostly sweets, she would have a conniption fit. As Ella was getting settled Katie Bell and the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team rushed over to greet her. To Ella's surprise, Oliver Wood was the first person to swoop her up into a hug. He pulled her right out of her seat and lifted her off her feet!

"Ella! It's so good to have you back! I'm sorry that I thought you were a traitor! It wasn't like you to miss Quidditch and I just thought —"

"Alright," Angelina Johnson said and pulled Oliver off of Ella, "that's enough, Oliver. The girl just woke up, give her a second would you?" She hugged Ella gently and when she pulled back Ella saw tears glistening in Angelina's eyes. "It's good to have you back, kid."

Alicia Spinnet hugged her as well. Ella didn't think she had ever been embraced so much by so many different people in such a short amount of time. "I'm so happy you're back! You deserve your place back on the team more than I do."

"Shut up, Alicia," Ella said around a mouthful of pumpkin pasties. "You're amazing, you deserve a spot on the team just as much as I do if not more."

They all sat down around Ella as she stuffed herself full of sweets. Katie leaned her head on Ella's shoulder. Ella could feel her shoulder becoming damp, Katie must have been crying. "Hey, what are you crying for?" Ella asked her.

Katie hastily wiped tears away from her eyes. "I'm just happy that you're okay is all," She said softly and wrapped her arms around her. So Katie and Ella sat there, Ella eating and Katie with her head on her best friend's shoulder and her arms around her waist.

As the feast continued Ella blushed and looked away quickly every time George caught her eye. She blushed so deeply because George was looking at Ella in a way that he never had before. There was kind of dreamy look in his eyes and he had his hand resting against his chin.

"Hey, George" Angelina said quietly, who was sitting next to him, while Ella was busy talking to Oliver, "subtlety isn't exactly your strong suit. I can see little hearts in your eyes!" She said, laughing, and George shoved her.

Ella looked around at all of her friends and Jackson and Juni, who had joined them, and smiled contently. This year had been hectic and crazy and Ella was just glad that it was over. Hopefully next year they'd actually have a calm year at Hogwarts.


	21. Ella's New Look

Ella was walking through the halls of the Hogwarts Express with Juni, on her way back to their train compartment that they were going to share with the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, with the exception of Harry and Oliver. She was sporting her new Quidditch jersey that had her last name displayed proudly over her shoulder blades, one of the many gifts her grandmother had showered her with after her petrification. On her way to the compartment, she bumped into an unknown man with tattered robes and knocked his suitcase out of his hands.

"Shit, I'm sorry!" Ella said, scrambling to help him pick up his things.

"No no, it's alright," the man said calmly and continued to put his belongings back into his case. "Thank you."

Ella stood up and nervously tucked her curly red hair behind her ears, straightening her new glasses. "Again, I'm sorry," she said. When the stranger straightened up he stared at Ella with an odd look in his eyes, as if he had seen her before. She turned on her heel to walk away with Juni, who was trying to stop himself from laughing at his friend. When she turned, the man caught a glimpse of the name "Stirling" on her shirt.

"Wait, hang on!" He said to her and Ella turned around skeptically.

"Yes?"

"Your father wouldn't by any chance happen to be Derrick Stirling would he?"

Ella's heart froze and her palms started to sweat. She tried to force the shock off of her face. She absolutely loathed talking about her father, she hated the very idea of him. "Yes," Ella said in a polite voice that Juni was almost certain was fake. "That is my father, how did you know?"

The man laughed slightly. "Well, you look just like him, those eyes and that red hair. I went to school with him here, but I haven't seen him in years. How is he?"

"No idea," Ella said, smiling a cold smile. "I haven't seen him in years either. He's been gone since I was seven. Chose a drink over his family. Lovely, isn't it?" This was what Ella liked about her father. She enjoyed ruining his reputation for people who didn't know that he had become such a ruinous cretin.

"Oh," the man said, his face dropping. He coughed awkwardly. "Well, I certainly am sorry to hear that. It was nice meeting you," he said and hurried into a train compartment.

Ella and Juni began to walk again and Juni eyed Ella warily. "You alright, mate?" He asked her gently. Juni knew how much Ella hated talking about her father, even though she got a kind of twisted enjoyment out of tarnishing his name, she still hated it.

"Yeah. I'm fine," she said shortly. Ella pulled her wand out of her pocket and pointed it at her hair. "Colovaria," she said sourly.

"Ella! What are you doing?" Juni said.

"I don't like being compared to that man, I don't want to look like him anymore," Ella said coldly. She was clearly in a bad mood now, and Juni decided that he wouldn't argue, and they continued to walk to their train compartment.

* * *

"I mean, I dunno, you guys," Lee Jordan said to his best friends, Fred and George Weasley. He was advising the twins on their idea to start developing and selling joke products. "Is it really a good idea to experiment with stuff like that in the dormitories? Personally, I really don't want anything exploding on my stuff and —" Lee stopped talking abruptly, and then swore loudly.

Ella had slid the door to the train compartment open, and she looked very different from when Lee had seen her last, that was what had caused him to swear. Her hair was no longer red and shoulder length, it was now a dirty blonde and went all the way down to her mid back. Her glasses were no longer small and rectangular, but the lenses were large and more rounded, they complimented her face very well, just as they had in her dream about George last year. (Not that she would tell anyone that.) Ella had gotten very into wearing makeup over the summer, and her mother was not very pleased about it. Apparently, Margaret Ross did not think it fitting for a fourteen-year-old to be wearing as much makeup as Ella now did.

But Ella did not care, for she grew more and more rebellious each year. She had been getting deeper and deeper into the grunge scene and often sported smudged eyeliner and lipstick. She wore a pair of ripped jeans with black boots and topped it all off with her favorite long sleeved Vaselines shirt around her waist. She looked completely different from last year, but she was quite pleased with her current appearance. She looked edgy and powerful and beautiful and she felt very comfortable looking in mirrors now. Ella plopped herself down in the seat next to Katie, grinding her teeth.

Fred and George had suspected that Ella was in a bad mood by the way she walked and by the expression on her face. Their suspicions were confirmed when she angrily said, "What are you looking at, Jordan?" when Lee wouldn't stop staring at her.

"So," Fred said awkwardly, breaking the hush that had come over the compartment, "new look, Ellie?"

"Mhm," Ella said as she dug a book and her Walkman out of her bag, opening the book and putting her headphones on. Fred shot Juni a should-i-even-ask look and Juni shook his head. If Ella was forced to discuss her father again she would probably rip someone's head off. A few painfully awkward minutes passed before Angelina Johnson elbowed George in the side, signaling him to say something.

"Hey, Ella," George said, "did Nirvana put out that new album yet? I really wanna hear it if they did."

"Nirvana?" said Lee. "The Muggle band, Nirvana?" George nodded. "Blimey, I didn't know you guys listened to that stuff." George blushed as he remembered listening to Ella's records when no one was around last year.

"We do now," Fred said proudly, hoping to cheer Ella up in the slightest if she saw that they weren't embarrassed about it. "Ella showed us a whole bunch of Muggle bands last year, and they're actually pretty good."

"Yeah, I know, dude," Lee said. "I'm half Muggle, remember?"

"Anyway," Ella said, taking off one of her headphones and trying to steer the conversation back on point, "no, they haven't. It's supposed to come out at the end of the month, though. I'll let you know when I get my hands on it." She was still in an awful mood, but talking seemed to be getting her mind off of things.

"How's Jackson?" Angelina Johnson said eagerly. She had started dating Ella's older brother, Jackson, at the very tail end of the last term.

"He wanted me to tell you that he's sorry he couldn't see you off on the platform but he's still on house arrest," Ella said, a smile even cracking onto her face.

"What's he on house arrest for?" Alicia Spinnet asked.

Ella chuckled slightly. "My mum caught him smoking weed in his room last week. Ooh, did he get it for that."

"Wait," Lee said, "isn't that a Muggle thing? We have like, illegal potions for stuff like that right?"

Ella actually closed her book and took off both of her headphones now. "I mean yeah, but they're super hard to make and the ingredients are crazy expensive. Plus, they're even more expensive to get premade." Everyone was giving her an odd look. "I've never tried to get one! I just read a lot of Potions books!" She turned back to Angelina. "Don't worry, though, Ang. I'm sure Ma will let your boyfriend off the hook eventually. He's eighteen, she can't keep him in the house forever. Especially now that he can Appartate really well."

"You're dating Ella's _brother_?" Fred said. "How did we not know this?"

"Mhm," said Angelina. "He asked me out right before he graduated."

"And why didn't you tell us?"

Angelina shrugged. "I dunno, it just never came up."

"I knew," Alicia said smugly.

"So does this mean that you're officially off the market? I can't ask you out anymore?" Lee asked.

"Unless you want my brother to kick your teeth in then I would suggest you don't," Ella said and opened her book up again.

"Fine," Lee sighed, "But Angelina, just so you know, you're missing out."

"Yeah, I'm sure I am," Angelina said, laughing and rolling her eyes. "So, Fred and George, how was Egypt?" she asked, eager for a change in subject.

Lee's disappointment was forgotten as Fred and George regaled the compartment with tales of their family's trip to Egypt. They made sure to include the story about when they tried to push Percy into a pyramid. Ella's bad mood seemed to be fading even fasting now, and by the time they had arrived at Hogwarts, it seemed to be gone completely.


	22. The Slumber Party

"'Mione," Ella said. Popping a Fizzing Whizbee into her mouth, "I hear that McGonagall had to talk to your and Harry and that's why you missed the sorting. What was that all about?"

A bunch of the girls from Gryffindor had gathered up in the fourth-year girls' dormitory because there weren't very many of them so it was the most spacious. They were having what could only be described as a stereotypical slumber party. Sweets and drinks, both alcoholic and not, were scattered about the room. Girls sat in all different corners, talking about boys, doing hair and makeup, or playing some kind of game.

"She just wanted to talk to me about my classes this term," Hermione said, suppressing a huge smile.

"Aren't you taking a ton of new courses?" Parvati Patil asked as Lavender Brown braided her hair. "Like, way more courses than you should be?"

"I wouldn't say that I'm taking more than I should be! I'm just challenging myself," Hermione said, "and I would suggest that you two try it as well sometime."

Lavender Brown rolled her eyes and decided to change the subject. "So Ella, what's the deal with you and George Weasley?"

"Wait, hang on, I need to focus," Ella said seriously as she was preparing to toss a Fizzing Whizbee into Alicia Spinnet's mouth from across the room. She threw it and it went directly into Alicia's mouth. "YES!" Ella yelled in triumph and high-fived Katie. "Now what were you saying, Lav?"

"I asked you what's up between you and George Weasley?"

Ella blushed and averted her blackly lined eyes. "What do you mean?"

"I _mean_ are you two dating? You seemed really cozy together during dinner."

"Did we?" Ella said, pulling out her Soundgarden vinyl and reading the back of it as an excuse to not look Lavender in the eyes. "I didn't notice anything different from how we normally act."

"That's my point!" Lavender huffed. "You two have dodging around it for the past two years now! When are you going to start dating?"

Now it was Ella's turn to roll her eyes. "First of all, two years ago I was twelve. Who would want to date a twelve-year-old? Secondly, there is no way in hell that George likes me that way. And I don't like him!" Ella grabbed a bottle of Butterbeer a put it to her mouth so she could stop talking.

"Well, in Lavender's defense," Katie said, "George was really broken up when you were petrified. And the way you looked at each other on the train made the sexual tension in there so thick that I could probably cut it with a knife."

Ella choked on her Butterbeer.

" _Sexual tension_?" Angelina said as if it was the most scandalous thing she had ever heard. With Jackson now gone, she had taken over the role of the protective older sibling. "For heaven's sake, Katie! She's only fourteen!"

Katie shrugged. "Hey, I'm just sayin'."

"But as _I_ was saying," Lavender Brown said, securing the complex braid in Parvati's hair with a ribbon, "if there's nothing between you and George, or if he doesn't make a move, there's always plan B."

"Plan B?" Ella said after she had quit sputtering on Butterbeer.

"Oh please!" Lavender said. "How unobservant _are_ you? Did you not see Cedric Diggory staring at you staring at you tonight?"

Ella blushed even harder than she had when George was brought up. George liking her was one thing, but Cedric, a popular boy who Ella had never talked to, was another. "Cedric was staring. . .at me?"

"It's true," Alicia said. "I saw it too. He was staring at you, he even licked his lips."

If Ella could choke on just air, she was sure that she would have. She had never experienced a boy liking her, at least not to her explicit knowledge. It made her nervous. "Do you think — do you think he likes me? Like, _like_ likes me?"

Lavender shrugged and giggled. "Who knows. But in my opinion, I think you should go for it. You've given George enough time and if he doesn't make a move now then he's never going to."

"Yeah," Ella said, faking a smile, "maybe you're right. Thanks, Lav."

The girls divided into their own conversations and Ella and Katie were now laying on Ella's bed, reading a Quidditch catalog. Hermione was sitting nearby with her nose in a book, and Parvati and Lavender had gotten tired and went back to the third-year girls' dormitory. Alicia and Angelina sat down on Katie's bed which was directly next to Ella's. Ella chewed on her lip, she had something very important in mind.

"Hey, you guys," she said hesitantly, "I have a question."

"Shoot," Katie said, looking away from the Quidditch catalog and rested her chin in her hands.

"Well, it's not really a question, it's more of a thought."

"Okay, well what is it?" Katie asked and put catalog away.

"Wait," Alicia said eagerly, "is it about George?"

"No no no," Ella said, "It has nothing to do with him actually. . ."

"Okay, well, what is it?" Angelina said impatiently.

Ella took a deep breath. "I'm pretty sure that Juni is gay."

"WHAT?" Katie and Hermione said at the same time. Alicia and Angelina looked incredibly stunned.

"There is no way!" Hermione said. "What makes you think that?"

"Shh!" Ella said, waving her hands frantically. "Keep it down, would you? And hear me out," she said and got up to close the door. "Think about it, he's never had a girlfriend and he's never so much as even kissed a girl. And when we were younger and Juni was a she, she had no problem talking about boys. She was straight, right? And now, he claims that he's still straight, that he was just pretending to like boys so he would seem 'normal.' But now, he never talks about girls."

"Wait," said Katie, "didn't he say something about having a crush on someone?"

"Ugh, yes," Ella said, rolling her eyes once again. "He swears that he likes Padma Patil but I can see right through him. He only says that when we bug him about it, but I've never seen him so much as even look at her or talk about her other than when asked."

"But that doesn't mean he's gay," Hermione said reproachfully.

"But wait," Ella said, holding up a finger, "there's more. I mean, I know he's a prat and I would never want Juni to date him, but have you seen the way he looks at Cormac McLaggen?"

"McLaggen?" Alicia sneered. "I can't _stand_ that guy. He mentally undresses every girl that walks past him! It's revolting. Juni can do so much better."

"I agree," Ella said and glanced down at her watch. "Shite! Look at the time, we should be getting to bed. Classes start tomorrow!"

"Ah, there's the little bookworm that I know and love," Angelina said fondly. "All that eyeliner doesn't change a damn thing."

"Oh, shut up," Ella said while laughing as Alicia and Angelina left the room. "Goodnight, you guys!"

"Night!" they both called over their shoulders.

Ella noticed how hesitant Hermione seemed to leave and return to the other girls in her year. "Wait, 'Mione," Ella said and caught Hermione's shoulder before she could leave. "Do you wanna stay here tonight? It doesn't seem like the other girls will be coming back up here."

There was a special glimmer in Hermione's eyes. "I would love to, if Katie's alright with that, of course."

"No problem at all," Katie said while climbing into bed. "I love having you around!"

So Katie, Ella, and Hermione spent that night together and all three of them could agree that it was one of the most fun nights that any of them had ever had while at Hogwarts.


	23. A Different Kind of Butterflies

"No, the Chudley Cannons are way better than Scottish National!" George said to Ella as they walked in one of the corridors together. Fred had conveniently "gone to the loo" as he often did when Ella was around during a passing period.

"Yeah sure, and when was the last time they played in the World Cup?" Ella asked smugly, giving George her half smile that he adored so much, not that he would ever admit that. Not even to himself.

"They were ninth in the league last year!"

Ella laughed and shoved him away from her. "Get outta here, you'll be late for Care of Magical Creatures!"

"Yeah, alright," George said and walked away, then he turned on his heel and started walking backward so he could look at her. "See you after your Potions class?" He shouted to her from across the corridor.

"You always do," She said back and smiled at him. The familiar feeling of butterflies hit her in the stomach but she convinced herself that she had just drunk too much pumpkin juice at breakfast. She began to walk down to the dungeons when she heard someone calling her name. She turned to see who it was. Oh no, it was Cedric. Well, at least Ella had decided to do her makeup this morning, not that she needed it.

"Hey, Ella," Cedric said as he caught up to her. "I was hoping I'd run into you." He smiled at her and Ella felt the butterflies again, a different kind of butterflies.

"Me?" Ella said and laughed nervously. "What would you want with me?"

"I just wanted to ask you a question," Cedric said. "Here, let me walk you down to Potions, the dungeons are pretty creepy. That's where you're going right?"

"Mhm," Ella hummed. She didn't know what else she could possibly say. Cedric Diggory was one of the most popular and attractive boys in the school. And here he was, talking to Ella, who was, to her knowledge, virtually a nobody.

"You're in your fourth year right?" Cedric asked her as he strode casually alongside her. Ella, on the other hand, was gripping the strap of her Potions bag (the same one that Fred and George had helped her get back her first year) for dear life.

"Yeah, I am." God, she sounded so stupid talking to him. Ella was looking literally anywhere else besides Cedric.

"Good, so that mean you can go on Hogsmeade trips. Would you like to get lunch with me on the first one of the term?"

"Y-you want me to go on a date with you?" Ella asked him, blushing harder than she ever had before.

Cedric smiled charmingly at her. "I do, but we don't have to call it a date if you don't want to. Honestly, I'll call it whatever you want as long as you say you'll go with me,"

"Oh," Ella said, her mind racing a mile a minute just trying to figure out what to say. "I don't — I don't think Oliver would like me going out with someone from a different Quidditch team." Which wasn't exactly a lie, Oliver would probably think Cedric was trying to find out their playing tactics.

"What Oliver doesn't know won't hurt him," Cedric said while laughing.

"Well, I haven't got a lot of money."

"Nonsense!" Cedric said. "It's my treat." He stopped Ella just outside of the Potions classroom. Now she had to look at him. "If you don't want to go you can tell me. I won't be mad."

Ella was struck by his sweetness and gave a kind of a breathy laugh. "No no, I do! I'm just nervous is all. I've never had a boy ask me out before." Ella flushed completely. She couldn't believe she had just said that to Cedric Diggory.

"Really? I find that hard to believe. I mean, you're beautiful," Cedric said. "By the way, I really like your new hair. Not that I didn't like the red, but this is cool. Did you use a spell?"

Ella couldn't believe what was happening. She was standing in the dungeons making small talk with Cedric Diggory about her hair. "Yeah. Yeah, I used Colovaria." She looked at the clock. "Well, I really should be going now, the bell's going to ring soon."

Before Ella could walk away Cedric stopped her again. "So you'll go on that date with me?"

Ella smiled a genuine smile at him. "Yeah, it's a date."

"Can I meet you back here after your class?" Cedric asked her, a relieved smile on his face. Ella nodded and walked into her classroom, sitting down Next to Juni and Katie as usual. Then a terrible thought hit her.

She had already told George that she would meet him after potions.

* * *

"I can't believe you're going out with Cedric Diggory," Juni said as he waited for his potion to turn green. "You don't even like him."

"I like him just fine!" Ella said, already ladling hers into a vial to be checked. "Besides, what's the harm in putting myself out there? It's fourth year, it's about time a boy finally noticed me, don't you think?"

"A boy _has_ been noticing you, you're just in denial."

"Yeah, well, _you've_ been noticing a boy and you're just in denial."

Juni blushed. "Ella, I told you, I like Padma." He straightened his back and puffed out his chest. "I think I'm going to ask her out this weekend."

Ella rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I'm sure you will." A couple moments passed before Ella asked, "Are you really upset that I'm going on a date with Cedric?"

"No, he's not," Katie said, not even looking up from her Potions book. "He just doesn't want you to do something you'll regret." Over the past four years, Katie had gotten to know Juni and Ella quite well. Perhaps even too well.

"Exactly. Thank you, Katie. Now Ella, can you help me figure out why my Girding Potion won't turn green?" Juni asked looking irritatedly into his cauldron.

"Yeah, lemme see," Ella said and came over to Juni's cauldron. "Oh, simple. You just have the heat a little too low. Turn it up a bit and it should change colors within the minute."

The potion did exactly as Ella had said and Juni started bottling it up. "Ugh, this stuff smells disgusting," he sneered.

"I know!" Katie said. "I don't think I've ever been this excited to leave a room before."

The bell rang and the three of them walked outside. Katie went to her and Ella's Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Ella however, was waiting outside for George. And Cedric. Juni tried to leave to go to his Herbology class but Ella begged him to wait with her. And just to Ella's terrible luck, both George and Cedric showed up at the exact same time. Apparently, they had Care of Magical Creatures together.

"Hey, Ella," Cedric said happily. "I was just on my way to meet you and George said he was doing the same, so we just came together."

"Yeah, Cedric's just told me that you two have a date set for the Hogsmeade trip?" George said, his brows raised and his arms crossed. There was a look on his face that Ella had never seen before.

"Yeah, we do," Ella said and she hoped that the complete horror that she was feeling on the inside didn't read on her face.

"Hey, Kyeong!" Draco Malfoy's voice said from around the corner. Ella had been grateful for the distraction until she realized who it was. "Oh, Weasley and Stirling. How surprising. Hanging around the Mudblood, I see. I gotta say, I really don't understand you blood traitors." Pansy Parkinson, Crabbe, and Goyle, Draco's dronies, were beside themselves with giggles. Draco shoved Juni against a wall and Ella felt a fire burning inside of her. "Are you still in your boy phase, Kyeong? Or have you realized that you're still a girl yet?"

"That's it!" Ella screamed and pulled out her wand. "Orbis!" Ella yelled at Malfoy and watched with great satisfaction as he sunk into the ground all the way up to his pale little neck. Just as Ella was about to stomp directly on Draco's nose Snape burst out of the classroom.

"Stirling! Just what do you think you're doing?" He snarled at her. "Fifty points from Gryffindor! Go to Professor McGonagall's office! Now."

"Yes, _sir_ ," Ella hissed, making sure to emphasize the sir. Juni was watching in complete horror, George looked incredibly proud, and Cedric was very impressed. The Orbis Jinx was incredibly difficult magic for a fourth-year, but George expected no less of Ella, he already knew how talented she was. Cedric had yet to find out just how powerful Ella really was.


	24. FLOW

"Why did you do it, Stirling?" Professor McGonagall said as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "I was under the impression that you knew better than that."

"You should have heard the things he said to him," Ella said scornfully from her seat across from McGonagall's desk. "He called him a Mudblood and told him that's a girl." Angry tears burned in her eyes. "He called it a 'boy phase.'"

McGonagall regarded Ella with sympathetic eyes but her lips were still pressed into a thin line. "I know that was an awful thing for Malfoy to say, and if I could punish him for it, I would, but you really shouldn't have reacted that way, Stirling."

"I couldn't help it!" Ella said desperately. "He was being so awful! Someone needed to put him in his place, and if the teachers won't do it, I will."

"Miss Stirling, I think you need a stern reminder of who is and isn't in authority here," Professor McGonagall said, eyeing Ella over her glasses. "You will not be attending the first Hogsmeade trip."

"But Professor —"

"That is my final word, Stirling. No detention, but you will not be going to Hogsmeade." Just when Ella was looking as defeated as she could get, Professor McGonagall said, "And five points will be awarded to Gryffindor for your shining example of the Orbis Jinx. That is very advanced magic for a fourth-year. Well done, Stirling."

Ella wiped the tears away from her eyes, hoping she didn't smear her eyeliner too much. "Thank you, Professor, and I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have — but you know how Malfoy is!"

"Yes, Miss Stirling, I very much do," Professor McGonagall said, her eyes glinting ever so slightly. A few awkward moments passed and Ella looked like she was having an inner debate with herself.

"May I ask you something before I go, Professor?" Ella asked.

"Of course."

Ella pulled a piece of parchment out of her bag that said, "F.L.O.W. Feminists' League for Oppressed Witches." She placed it on the desk in front of McGonagall. "It's a new club that I want to start. It's about empowering witches more and giving us more representation in the media and government." She looked at Professor McGonagall hopefully. "And since you're such a strong role model for girls, I was hoping you could sponsor it?"

Professor McGonagall looked over the beautifully designed flyer. "This is very well made, Stirling. Did you draw this?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Well," Professor McGonagall said, smiling slightly at Ella, "I'm sure it will be a nice little club. I will sponsor it, but only if you promise that we will not have another incident like this. "

"Oh, thank you, Professor!" Ella said excitedly and took back her drawing. "Again, I'm sorry, it won't happen again!" she said and left the room. Ella might have seemed very cool and aloof on the outside now, but on the inside, she was still a nerdy little bookworm who would do a lot to make her favorite teachers happy. She was adjusting her glasses but then jumped when someone startled her by placing their hand on her shoulder.

"Sorry!" Cedric said. "I didn't mean to scare you!"

"It's alright," Ella said, getting her breath back. "Were you waiting out here for me?

"Yeah, I have a free period now so I figured that I might as well. What do you have this period? I can walk you there."

Ella glanced at her watch. "I mean, I'm supposed to be in Defense Against the Dark Arts right now but I guess I could swing it," she said, smiling.

"Stirling, I'll have you know that I am prefect and I think I just may have to write you up for skipping class," Cedric said as they began to walk towards one of the courtyards.

Ella giggled, she hadn't known before that Cedric was funny. "Fancy going to sit out by the lake? It's still nice out."

"Yeah, sure," Cedric said and let Ella lead him down to her favorite spot by the lake. It was very grassy and contained many wildflowers, Cedric had never been here before. "Wow, this is really beautiful. Seems fitting that you would come here a lot. Beautiful place for a beautiful girl."

"You're too sweet," Ella said blushed a shade that would match her hair if it was still red.

"Nope, just honest," said Cedric as he sat down on the plush grass, pulling Ella with him, who tumbled down, giggling.

"Listen, Cedric, about the Hogsmeade trip. . ." Ella said, adjusting her glasses as she tended to do when she was nervous.

"Oh no," Cedric said, "don't tell me you're canceling on me."

"Not exactly," Ella grimaced. "McGonagall told me that I can't go to Hogsmeade because I jinxed Malfoy."

"What?" Cedric said, outraged. "But the little idiot deserved it! What with those awful things he said to your friend!"

"I know, I know," Ella said, sighing. "But I just can't go. I'm sorry, Cedric."

"Don't be sorry," Cedric said. "I'll just stay at the school with you and everyone else can go to Hogsmeade."

"Cedric, no! You go, I'll stay here. You can go have a fun time with your friends."

"But I wanna have a fun time with you," Cedric said and grabbed one of Ella's hands.

"Oh," Ella said lamely and blushed furiously. She had never had a boy talk to her like this in all of her life. The only boys she ever explicitly interacted with that weren't her brother were the Weasley boys, Harry, Oliver, and Juni. She could really get used to this kind of treatment.


	25. Ella and Cho's First Fight

"It's nice to see you again, Cho, it's been a while," Juni said whilst writing his essay for Defense Against the Dark Arts. "How've you been?"

"Oh fine," Cho said, who was also doing her schoolwork. "Quidditch has been crazy, though, we've been training super hard. I don't think I'll be able to walk right until I graduate."

"Amen," Katie and Ella said together, noses buried in their Potions books.

The three girls and Juni were all huddled under one of the large willow trees on the school grounds (not the Whomping Willow, of course, they weren't daft), doing their homework. They were taking advantage of the very last bits of almost warmth as October rolled around. They were all bundled up in scarves and robes, but the autumn weather was still pleasant.

Cho had been very busy with own friends in Ravenclaw, along with Quidditch, just like Ella and Katie. "How have you guys been, though? I feel like it's been years!" Cho said.

"Yeah well, we could have seen each other sooner if you actually made an effort to see us," Ella thought to herself bitterly. It was no secret among Juni and Katie that Ella was not happy with Cho these days.

"Ella's been great, haven't you?" Katie said as she poked Ella in the side, a playful smile on her face. "Ever since she's started talking to Cedric Diggory. Isn't your date tomorrow?"

"Yeah, it is," Ella said, barely looking up from her book.

"You're going with Cedric Diggory?" Cho asked, suddenly very interested in Ella.

"Not technically," Ella said. "At least not yet," she added, the urge to rub it in Cho's face overwhelming and Ella's modesty hated her for it. But she couldn't help it, she was not a fan of Cho right now.

 _You're being childish, Ella, you know that._

I don't care.

 _Why are you even mad at her?_

She's clearly forgotten about us.

 _No, she hasn't, she's here now, isn't she?_

Ella was shaken from her inner debate, which she was losing to herself, by the way, by Cho asking her a rather irritating question.

"Well, are you still friends with Fred and George?"

"What?" Ella said as if that was the most preposterous thing she had ever heard. "Of course I am! Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well," Cho said tentatively, "everyone knows that George has always kind of liked you, I figured he might back off a bit now because of Cedric. And if George backs off, then so does Fred, right?"

"Oh, so what? You think that they were only sticking around because George thought I was cute? Well, news flash, Cho, there's more to our friendship than that." Juni's hand twitched as he fought the urge to put a hand on Ella to calm her down. It was unwise to lay even a finger on Ella Stirling when she was mad, she might just rip it off.

"No! That's not what I meant!" Cho said desperately.

"Well," Ella said sourly, continuing to read her book and looking away from Cho, "if you must know, we have drifted apart a bit. But it's not because of Cedric! We — we had another fight and we just haven't fully made up yet." Ella knew that she was lying, but she wasn't about to admit to Cho that she was right. Ella's pride was far too strong for that.

After a few moments of silence passed, Cho spoke again. "Well, maybe that's a good thing?"

"And what's _that_ supposed to mean?" Ella fired back hotly, snapping her book shut. Katie and Juni flinched.

"I-I just think maybe it's for the better that you drift from Fred and George a little. I've always felt like they used you a lot. . ."

"Oh! So that's what you think, is it?" There was rage burning in Ella's eyes. Cho had really done it this time.

"I only say that because they're always asking you to help with their pranks and with spells and potions that they can't really do well yet!"

"Has it ever occurred to you, Cho, that I offered to help them with that stuff? This isn't first year anymore! They don't have to beg me to help them anymore, I _offer_ to. I help them with pranks and stuff because _I_ think it's fun. _I_ enjoy it. I don't do it for them, I do it for me. I'm not afraid to break the rules anymore, people change."

"Fine," Cho said stiffly. "I'm sorry, I just think they're using you."

Ella snorted. "Yeah? Did your precious Marietta tell you to say that?"

Cho narrowed her eyes at Ella. "And what's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Oh nothing, but why don't you run along and hang out with her? Merlin knows that she's more important to you than us now!"

"Fine!" Cho said, gathering her things up and shoving them in her bag. Before she left, she wheeled around to face Ella. "You go have fun with George and Cedric! Merlin knows that you can't stick to just one boy!" Ella stood up as if she was going to lunge at Cho.

"Hey!" Juni said, standing up and getting in between the two fighting girls. He drew his wand on Cho. "Get out of here, Cho. And if I ever hear you say anything like that about Ella again I will not hesitate to hex you."

Cho was shocked. She, nor anyone, had ever seen Juni act so rashly before. She looked at Katie helplessly but Katie just turned her head ahead. She had chosen her side. "Fine," Cho said for the third time and walked away from them.

Ella and Juni both sat back down, their homework forgotten for the moment being. Ella leaned her head on her best friend's shoulder. "Thanks, Juni," she said. "I've never seen you do anything like that."

"Yeah well," Juni said, "I'll be damned if I let some imply that my best friend is a slut or something." Ella jabbed him in the side with her elbow. "Sorry. I know you hate that word."

Katie was being unusually quiet, so Ella nudged her with her foot. "Katie? You good?"

"Yeah," said Katie yanking her hair out of her ponytail and beginning to braid it, "I just can't believe she said that to you. It was so stupid."

"I know," Ella sighed and ran her hand through her long blonde hair, untangling the waves as she went. "But in her defense, I was kind of stupid too."

"You're defending her?" Juni gaped at Ella.

Ella shrugged. "Yeah, I let my emotions get the best of me. Again. I said some stuff I didn't mean, so did she."

Juni wrapped his arms around Ella as she rested her back on his front. "You're so weird, have I ever told you that? You were ready to rip Cho's head off not two minutes ago, and now you're defending her."

"I know," Ella sighed again, "I know I am. But hey, at least I'm not saying that I was completely in the right like some ignorant arsehole, right?"

"Right," Katie said, smiling, "and that's why we like you more than Cho."

The three of them laughed and began packing up their stuff, heading back up to the castle for lunch.


	26. Abandonment Issues

Oliver had called a meeting for the Quidditch team on Thursday and Ella steeled herself for what was sure to be one of his most dramatic speeches ever. Oliver was in his seventh and final year at Hogwarts, so he was probably going to push the team harder than they had ever been pushed before.

"We don't have to worry about Sirius Black getting us, I think Oliver might actually kill us instead if we don't win the Cup this year, right guys?" Ella said quietly to Fred and George. She was incredibly disappointed when they barely even chuckled at her joke. That was very odd of them and it made the bad kind of butterflies flutter in her stomach. She was thankful that Oliver had finally strode into the room, his broad shoulders burlier than ever. This way, she didn't have to think about Fred or George.

"This is our chance — my last chance — to win the Quidditch Cup," he told them as he paced in front of them. "I'll be leaving at the end of this year. I'll never have another shot at it.

"Gryffindor hasn't won for seven years now. Okay, so we've had the worst luck in the word — injuries — then the tournament getting called off last year. . ." Wood swallowed as if the memory still brought a lump to his throat and Ella rolled her eyes. "But we also know we've got the _best — ruddy — team — in — the — school_ ," he said, punching his fist into his other hand, a glint in his eye that made Ella highly uneasy.

"We've got three _superb_ Chasers."

Wood pointed at Ella, Angelina Johnson, and Katie Bell.

"We've got the most _useful and reliable_ reserve Chaser in the whole school."

He pointed to Alicia Spinnet, who had started coming to practices regularly at this point, seeing as how they'd had to put her in so many times.

"We've got two _unbeatable_ Beaters."

"Stop it, Oliver, you're embarrassing us," Said Fred and George together, pretending to blush, and Ella realized how long it had been since she last heard their voices.

"And we've got a Seeker who's never failed to win us a match!" Wood rumbled, glaring at Harry with a furious sort of pride. "And me," he added as an afterthought.

"We think you're very good too, Oliver," said George.

"Spanking good Keeper," said Fred.

"The point is," Oliver said, continuing to pace, "the Quidditch Cup should have had our name on it these past two years. Ever since Harry joined the team, I've thought the thing was in the bag. But we haven't got it, and this year's the last chance we'll finally get to see our name on the thing. . ."

Wood spoke so dejectedly that even Fred, George, and Ella looked sympathetic.

"Oliver, this year's our year!" said Fred.

"We'll do it, Oliver!" said Angelina.

"Definitely," said Harry.

"The other teams won't know what hit 'em," said Ella.

With more determination than they had ever had, the team began training for the season, three times a week. The weather was getting colder and wetter, the nights longer, but no amount of wind or mud could deter Ella from finally winning the Quidditch Cup.

Ella was in the locker room one evening with the rest of the team, stripping her Quidditch robes off of her soaked body. It had been a particularly cold and rainy night, but Ella's body was still covered with a sheen of sweat. She was exhausted, but her mood brightened considerably when Fred and George spoke to her substantially for the first time in weeks.

"You're going to Hogsmeade with Cedric this weekend, right?" George said an unmistakable coldness in his voice.

"No," Ella said as she pulled her favorite Nirvana sweater over her head, "I can't go to Hogsmeade."

"Why can't you go to Hogsmeade?" Fred asked. He seemed a lot less tense than George and Ella was happy about that.

"Because I jinxed Malfoy into the ground that one day — George, you were there — and I almost stomped on his nose but Snape stopped me. I got sent to McGonagall, she didn't give me a detention, but she said I'm not allowed on the first Hogsmeade trip.

"So," Ella sighed, "I get to spend my Halloween here."

A grin broke onto George's face, which Ella had not been expecting. "Well, in that case, d'you wanna spend the day with me and Fred? It'll be Halloween! Imagine all the good pranks we could pull!"

"Yeah! We can get Malfoy back for getting you caught!" said Fred.

"Well," Ella said, laughing lightly, "technically I got myself caught. I shouldn't have jinxed him right outside of the Potions room."

"But still," Fred said, closing his locker. "So what d'you say?"

"I can't," said Ella, avoiding eye contact. "Cedric said that he's going to stay here with me on Halloween and we're gonna have our date here."

"Oh," George said, the coldness back in his voice. "Well then, have fun with that."

He slammed his locker door shut and walked briskly out of the locker room, Fred following closely behind. Fred looked at Ella for a split second with what Ella thought might be sympathy, but then they were both gone, leaving Ella confused and feeling abandoned, a feeling did not like. Ever since her father left, Ella had had serious abandonment issues, and between Cho and the twins, she didn't know how much longer she could remain sane.

"C'mon, Ella," Katie said gently, leading her out of the changing room, "let's go back up to the castle."


	27. Ella and Cedric's First Date

"So, I hear you got into a fight with Cho Chang," Cedric said as he and Ella laid on a blanket in the little grassy knoll that Ella had brought them to when they had skipped class together.

"Wow," said Ella, looking up at the clouds, "news does travel fast in this school, doesn't it?"

"If that proves anything, it proves that you're not a nobody like you're so stubborn to admit that you aren't." Cedric poked her on the nose and Ella giggled, shoving him away.

"I don't know what you mean, Cedric," Ella said and rolled onto her stomach, now her side was pressed up against Cedric's.

"You don't know what I _mean_?" Cedric said and shifted onto his side so he could look at her better. "Ella, you must be mental. Let's look at the facts, shall we? You're Jackson Stirling's little sister, that's a big deal, he was massively popular. And you're one of the smarted girls in your year, — the entire school, really.

"You're one of the best Chasers on the Gryffindor team, one of the best they've had in years. It's a wonder you guys don't win more! And you're best friends with Fred and George Weasley, two of the most popular kids in the school. That's also kind of a big deal. And — wait, I'm sorry, did I hit a nerve or something?" Cedric asked when he saw the shift in Ella's face.

"No," Ella said hesitantly, trying to find the right words, "it's not that per say. It's just that Fred and George and I, we had — we had sort of a falling out I guess? They don't talk to me as much anymore. . ."

"Oh," Cedric said, trying to hide his panic. Had he just ruined their entire date by bringing up the twins? "Well, I could tell you something that'll make you feel better if you want?"

"And what's that?"

"You're one of the most drop dead gorgeous girls I've ever seen."

"Oh," Ella said, blushing furiously. "I suppose that does help a bit."

"I'm serious! Especially today, I like this lipstick or whatever you've got on. It makes you look really cute."

Ella laughed, a genuine laugh too. She would never have imagined that she would have gotten so comfortable with Cedric so fast. "Yeah, it's called lipstick," Ella said, still chortling.

She had gone for a different kind of look today than what she had been sporting recently, she had softened it up quite a bit. She hadn't been as heavy handed with the eyeliner today and had elected to wear a light pink lipstick as opposed to her trademark red. As opposed to her ripped jeans, she wore a black pleated skirt with a white t-shirt tucked into the waistband. She had to agree with Cedric, she did think she looked rather cute, even if she was wearing one of her winter robes.

"Will it come off if I kiss you?" Cedric asked her quietly.

"Um. . .probably?" Ella almost squeaked with a kind of horror as she realized that Cedric was leaning towards her. She had never kissed a boy before. Only, quite literally, in her dreams.

"I don't care," said Cedric, and he pressed his lips against Ella's.

She had expected it to be like the kiss with Bobby Silenger in her dream, dull and repulsive. But it wasn't, it was on of the best feelings Ella had ever felt. She had not seen it coming, but fireworks were flying around behind her eyelids and her heart thundered. The kiss was not lustful like it had been in her dream, but this one was sweet and slow and simple. When Cedric pulled away from her, Ella began to giggle uncontrollably.

"What?" Cedric asked, but then began to laugh with her. He repeated his question, " _What_? Was it really that bad?"

"No!" Ella said, a beaming smile on her face. "You just have lipstick on your mouth now." She reached forward and wiped the smear of pink off of his lips. "There. Much better." Cedric stared directly at her and it made Ella look down and blush again. Cedric placed his forefinger and thumb and lifted Ella's face up, pecking her on the lips sweetly.

"I hope that was a good first kiss for you," he said.

"And how do you know that was my first kiss?" Ella said, feigning offense.

Cedric chuckled and rolled his eyes fondly. "Because you told me last week that you'd never kissed a boy before."

"Oh, right," Ella said, laughing embarrassedly. "But yes, it was a very good first kiss, thank you, Cedric."

"No, thank you, Ell," Cedric said and kissed her again.

"Hm, Ell," Ella thought to herself as she kissed Cedric. "I like that. No one's ever called me that before." She immediately shook off the thought another boy who had a nickname for her that no one else used.

"So, how was it?" Katie asked eagerly as she piled roast ham onto her plate. "Did you kiss? Did you have fun? Where did you go?"

"One question at a time, Katie, please," Ella said, laughing and taking a swig of her pumpkin juice. Cedric waved at her from the Hufflepuff table and Ella waved back, blowing him a kiss. She heard, Lee, Fred, and George make gagging sounds from nearby her, not next to her as they normally were, but she ignored them.

"It was really good! We sat out by the lake in the little grassy area I found. You know the place I'm talking about? Yeah, that one. We just kinda laid there and looked at the clouds and talked. He made this floating fireball thing because it was getting kind of cold, it was really sweet of him. And yes," she lowered her voice, "we did kiss. More than once, actually."

Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil, who had been listening in, squealed in joy. Angelina and Alicia high-fived her. Hermione and Katie smiled encouragingly. George, who was also apparently listening, stabbed angrily at his food while his brother and best friend looked at him sympathetically.

The rest of the feast went swimmingly for Ella. She ate copious amounts of food, and so did her friends, even though they were stuffed full of Honeydukes sweets and butterbeer. Cedric and she kept exchanging flirtatious glances from across their tables that made the butterflies in her stomach go crazy. When the feast had ended and it was time for the students to return to their common rooms, Cedric caught up with her and laced his fingers with hers.

"Hey," he said happily.

"Hi, yourself," Ella said, swaying into him playfully.

"So, I wanted to ask you something," said Cedric, swinging their arms as they walked. "We've been talking for about a month now and I know we've only had one date. . .but would — only if you wanna — would you wanna be my girlfriend?"

Ella stood on her tiptoes and tilted her head back so that her black pointed hat almost fell off. She kissed Cedric on the cheek. "I would like nothing more than that, Ced."

Cedric sighed, obviously relieved and leaned down to kiss Ella in the middle of the crowd. Some kids whistled, some groaned in disgust, but neither Cedric nor Ella cared. "Well then," Cedric said after pulling away from her, "I'll see you tomorrow, Ell." He winked at her as he walked away, not letting go of her hand until the very last second.

Ella sighed and walked dreamily towards Gryffindor tower, she was even humming to herself. She had never suspected that she would end up liking Cedric as much as she did. George Weasley was barely even running through her mind, she noticed. But that didn't matter because she never even liked George like that in the first place!

Ella's brilliant mood was quickly ruined as Juni ran at her, a terrified expression on her face. "Ella!" she panted. "Ella, he's here!"

"What?" Ella said, placing her hands on Katie's shoulders. "Katie, calm down, Katie — deep breaths, Katie, deep breaths — you're fine. Who's here?"

"Sirius Black!" Katie cried desperately. "He's in the castle! He attacked the fat lady," she whispered. Katie was almost in tears, and Ella was stunned into silence. Mass murderer, Sirius Black, was in the castle.

Well, so much for Ella's good night.


	28. Fred's Apology

December was coming to an end soon, and Ella couldn't remember a time that she had been more stressed. Despite the fact that she had been dating Cedric Diggory for almost two months, which was going amazingly, by the way, Ella was miserable in every other aspect. It seemed like the only time she was happy was when she was with Cedric. It had been almost two months since she and Cedric had made it official, almost two months since Fred and George had talked to her. With the absence of two of her best friends, she realized how boring her life had become.

Ella didn't sneak out of her dorm anymore. Didn't indulge herself in butterbeer or Fizzing Whizbees anymore. Didn't visit Zonko's on Hogsmeade trips anymore, she feared she would run into Fred and George there. Quidditch practices were awkward and the changing room was even worse. She felt like she would burst into tears every time either of them looked at her, but specifically George.

On top of the twins' absence from her life, she was up to her eyeballs in schoolwork. Still a studious and ambitious girl, Ella was taking a handful of electives and was in more than one extra-curricular activity. Divination was stressful, Professor Trelawney's predictions of death and peril had increased greatly since Sirius Black's break into the school. Professor Flitwick had doubled the amount of Frog Choir practices per week, she was struggling in Arithmancy, and she had loads of Magical theory homework. All of this on top of her core classes and the stressors from her personal life. She barely had any time to experiment with spells and potions, draw or paint, or play her guitar. In short, she was going crazy.

Katie and Ella were now sitting in a deserted common room, the two of them being the only ones left in it at this hour. Ella had her headphones on and was listening to Soundgarden, only taking them off momentarily to listen to Katie. "I'm going up to bed, you coming?" Katie asked as she gathered up all her things.

"No," Ella said, moving a headphone back onto one ear, "I think I'll stay down here a bit longer and read some more. I'll be up in a little while, though," she added and resumed reading her copy of _Potioneering 101: A Guide for the Creative._

"Okay," Katie said and rubbed Ella comfortingly on the shoulder. "Goodnight," she said and walked towards the girls' dormitories.

"G'night," Ella mumbled.

"Hey, Ella," Katie said and whirled around to face her best friend, "I love you."

Ella looked up, surprised. She knew Katie loved her like a sister, but why had she suddenly proclaimed it? "Yeah, I know. I love you too, Katie. I'll be up in a bit." Ella smiled at her friend to hopefully calm her nerves. "Promise."

Katie nodded and retreated up the steps to the dorms.

Once she was gone, Ella laid her head against the back of the sofa and sighed. She was so incredibly sick of people asking her "Are you okay?" or "How are you holding up?" or "What's wrong?" It was maddening. It was only maddening because the only two people Ella wanted to hear these questions from wouldn't speak to her.

And, of course, Cedric helped with her situation. Quite a lot, actually. Ella fell more and more for Cedric every day that she was with him. They were completely enamored with each other, Cedric was even meeting Ella's family over the winter holidays. She was happy with him, so very happy, but he couldn't do much about Fred and George. Ella was miserable without her friends, and it killed Cedric to know that he could do little to nothing to solve it.

Twenty minutes had passed and Ella sat in the common room all alone, her favorite Muggle music blasting into her ears, and she was soon was shocked to see Fred Weasley coming into the abandoned common room. She was even more surprised to see him sit down next to her.

"Hi," Fred said.

Ella looked at him like he was insane. Two months of not speaking to her, of barely even looking at her, and all he said was "hi?" She couldn't believe it. "Hi," she answered him. She was doing an incredibly good job at controlling her emotions. At least for now.

"So. . .how've you been?"

" _How have I been_?" Ella repeated and laughed without a single drop of humor. "I've been bloody awful, Fred! I don't think I've felt this bad in years. . ."

"Oh," Fred said uncomfortably. "How come? George and I thought you were totally happy. Y'know, being with Cedric and all."

"I mean, I am," said Ella with a shrug. "Really, I am. I love being with Cedric, he's really great. But things haven't been the same since — since you and George stopped being my friends." She was fighting back tears now.

"We didn't stop being your friends, Ellie," Fred said, alarmed by the tears in her eyes. "Merlin, I didn't think you were gonna cry over us."

"Well it wouldn't be the first time, would it?" Ella snapped at him. "You guys abandoned me! Because I'm happy! Do you know how that makes me feel?"

"We didn't abandon you. . ." Fred said quietly. Ella had never really seen this softer side of Fred Weasley.

"Yes, you did!" Ella said, tears now falling freely from her eyes, but her voice still strong and steady. "You guys didn't even tell me why! You just stopped talking to me! You just left. You left me, just like my dad left me, just like mum's boyfriend left. I don't know why I ever suspected anything different."

Fred was shaken by what Ella had just told him. He knew she would be upset. He knew she might not understand. But he never thought that she would compare him and George to her scumbag father. That had never even occurred to him. "Ella. . .I'm sorry. I didn't think it would affect you this much."

" _You didn't think it would affect me this much_?" Ella repeated yet again, clearly angry now. "More like you didn't think _at all_!"

"Do you wanna know why?" Fred asked quietly. When Ella looked at him silently he continued, "He's hurt. He's hurt a lot, Ellie."

Ella didn't even flinch when Fred called her Ellie. In all honesty, she was just happy that he was speaking to her again. "Who?" Ella asked. She knew what the answer was going to be, she just needed to hear it.

"George. He really doesn't like seeing you with Cedric, it tears him apart if I'm being honest with you. He really likes you, did you know that? Since he first laid eyes on you I think. He'll probably kill me if he finds out I'm telling you, but I honestly think that he's in love with you. It's been really hard for him. Just looking at you breaks his heart, at least that's what he's told Ginny and me. He's just like you, though, he lets his emotions get the better of him sometimes. That's why we haven't been talking to you, because George is really upset. But I swear, we're still your friends."

"I don't care," Ella said. Like Fred had said, she had a tendency to let her emotions get the better of her, and it was happening right now. Hot tears were spilling down her face and her hands were clenched into fists, her nails digging into her palms. "If he's liked me this whole time then he should have done something about it! He has no right to be sour now that I've actually found someone who makes me happy.

"I'm not going to apologize and I'm not going to break up with Cedric just to get George back," Ella said as she scrambled to get all of her things together. At first, she had been ecstatic to be near Fred again, now she just wanted to get away from him. "If you two want to keep ignoring me because I've got a boyfriend now then, by all means, do it! Meanwhile, I'm going to be having a very nice time with Cedric. Good — night!" Ella yelled at him before slamming the door to the girls' dormitories.

Fred sighed and leaned his head back, just as Ella had done not too long ago. He had probably just made things a whole lot worse for him and his brother, the exact opposite of what he had been hoping to do.'

* * *

Ella threw herself onto her bed and broke down into sobs, alarming Katie and Ella who were in the fourth year girls' dormitory, waiting for her.

"Ella?" Hermione said, worried beyond belief. "Ella, what's wrong?"

"I don't know what to do!" Ella wailed, being wrapped up in both Hermione and Katie's arms. "Fred just told me that he likes me and that's why they aren't talking to me!"

"What?" said Hermione, astounded. " _Fred_ likes you? I always thought it was George."

"It _is_ George!" Ella said and wiped tears from her eyes. "Fred just told me about it! He said that they aren't talking to me because George is really hurt that I'm with Cedric now! Apparently, it's really hard for him to see me with him."

"Well, that's just stupid!" Katie said angrily. "George's the one who likes you, not Fred! Why isn't he talking to you?"

"They're t-twins, Katie!" Ella blubbered, eyeliner and mascara running down her face in dark streams. "They stick together! I don't b-blame them, I just wish it would all end!"

"Well. . ." Hermione said, "you could always break it off with Cedric. . ."

That caused Ella to cry even harder. "But I don't want to break up with Cedric! I love being with him! He's so amazing, you guys have no idea! He makes me feel something I've never felt before. I don't want to lose him, but I don't want to lose Fred and George either."

Ella was reduced to sobs again and Katie and Hermione looked at each other helplessly, they had no idea what to do either.


	29. Onyx Heart

Ella hopped off of the Hogwarts express, holding hands with Cedric Diggory. Katie and Juni followed them, watching the happy couple with a happiness of their own. After Ella's exchange with Fred, Ella had put everything she had into her relationship with Cedric. She had basically cut Fred and George out of her life for the moment being. Ella didn't like to think about it, though, if she put too much thought into it the reality of the situation came crashing down on her and turned her into a mess. She was very happy with Cedric and tried to focus all of her energy onto that. So all in all, Katie and Juni were happy that their best friend was happy.

"You guys go on ahead, I wanna say bye to Ced," Ella said to Katie and Juni.

"Alright," Juni said, pulling his trunk behind him, "just try to keep it PG, okay? We are in public, y'know?"

"Shut up!" Ella said and shoved Katie and Juni, who both walked away to find their parents, grinning and laughing.

Once they were gone Ella and Cedric leaned up against one of the pillars in King's Cross station. "You really didn't have to sit with us on the train, Ced."

"I know," Cedric said and tucked a piece of blonde hair behind Ella's ear, "but I wanna get to know your friends better so they can be my friends too. Especially Katie and Juni, I know they're really important to you."

Ella groaned and pulled Cedric into a hug. "My god, what did I ever do to deserve you?"

Cedric wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back, sighing happily. "I dunno, babe, but whatever you did I'm glad you did it."

"Me too," said Ella, leaning her head up to kiss Cedric before they separated to find their parents. They had their arms wrapped around each other so tightly that their bodies were completely pressed together. Cedric's hand found its way into the soft hair at the nape of Ella's neck and held her close to him. They were practically snogging in the middle of the train station.

Ella pulled back, blushing madly, and for a moment she thought Cedric's head was going to follow hers so he could keep kissing her. "We probably should keep the snogging to a minimum while we're in public."

Cedric sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I know, but I'm gonna miss you over the holiday, I needed something that would leave a lasting impression." He pulled her close to him again.

Ella shoved him playfully and giggled. "Shut up, you idiot. You'll see me tomorrow. You're still coming for my birthday, right?"

"Yep," Cedric said, "Dad pulled a few strings and got our fireplaces connected so I'll pop in around six. Is that fine?"

"Perfect," Ella said. She pulled Cedric down by the lapels of his jacket and pressed her lips against his firmly, catching his bottom lip in between her teeth as she pulled away. She had to laugh at the look on Cedric's face after she had finished kissing him. He looked as if he had just been given a love potion. "I've really got to go and find my ma now, though." She pecked him on the cheek and turned to find her family.

"Wait!" Cedric said, grabbing her wrist and twirling so that she faced her again. It was probably the most graceful thing Ella had ever experienced thus far. Cedric kissed her one last time before letting her go. "I'll see you tomorrow," he said, winking at her and walking away.

Ella stood there a moment, completely stunned, before shaking her head and wondering through the platform, looking for her mother and Riley.

"Ewwa!" Riley yelled and ran to his big sister. "I missed you!

Ella scooped Riley up, who was almost four now and groaned jokingly. "My goodness, you're getting heavy! I won't be able to carry you soon!"

Riley looked absolutely horrified by this. "No! No, you have to carry me!" He was gripping his toy wand in his hand and pointed it at himself. "I'll do a spell! I can be light!"

Ella acted as if Riley now weighed the equivilant to a single feather. "Merlin, you are light! You must have been practicing while I was gone!"

"I did! I worked really hard when you leaved for school this time. Right, Mummy?"

"Yes you did, sweetheart," Margaret said and pinched Riley's cheek, then kissed Ella on the forehead. "Hi, baby, let's get you home. Are you going to make me help change your room again?"

"Honestly, Ma, yeah I am," Ella said and her and her mother laughed, Riley, joining in without really knowing what they were laughing about. They walked to their car, a flying car nonetheless, and strapped Riley into his carseat. Ella's mother drove into a dark alley, made sure no Muggles were around and turned on the Invisibility Booster. (A wonderful idea that she had gotten from Arthur Weasley.) They flew off into the sky, beginning the hour and a half ride home to Edinburgh.

* * *

"Thank Merlin we don't look like a mess when one of Ella's friends is coming over this time," Margaret said, nervously straightening her already straight skirt again.

"He's my boyfriend, Ma, there's a difference," Ella said, who was too fidgeting with her dress. It was burgundy, long sleeved, flowy, and stopped right above her knees. She wore a simple pair of black heels and had taken extra care in doing her makeup. She still had George's crystal necklace dangling around her neck.

"Yeah, boyfriend," Jackson grumbled. "It would have been nice to know you were dating Diggory before yesterday."

"Well, it's not really any of your business now, is it?"

"It is so my business! And if I had known that he would end up dating my baby sister then when we were at school together I would have —" Jackson was cut off a large green flames erupted from their fireplace and out popped Cedric Diggory, already in his dress robes.

"Hello," he said awkwardly. He was not expecting Ella's entire family to be standing there waiting for him.

"Hello, Cedric," Margaret said warmly, shaking Cedric's hand in a very friendly way. "I'm Margaret, Ella's mum. You can call me Ms. Ross, Ms. R, or Margaret. Whichever you prefer."

"It's very nice to meet you, Ms. Ross," Cedric said, shaking Margaret's hand and making sure to be very respectful. Ella watched him proudly and had to bite her lip to keep from smiling too much.

"Cedric," Jackson said very sternly, drawing up to his full height and burliness. He shook Cedric's hand much harder than Ella's mother had. It reminded her of when Oliver Wood and Marcus Flint shook hands before a Quidditch match.

"Jackson," Cedric said, not even flinching at Jackson's handshake. "How've you been since you left Hogwarts?"

"Oh great," Jackson said, still eyeing Cedric unhappily. "Life's much easier when Snape's not in it."

Cedric laughed at that. "Yeah, I would imagine it would be. And you must be Riley," Cedric said as he kneeled down in front of Ella's little brother.

Ella bit her lip even harder to keep her grin from growing.

"Hello, I'm Cedric," he said and shook his hand out for Riley to shake, his hands were a great deal bigger than Riley's.

"Hi, Cedwic," Riley said very shyly, he still had a lot of trouble pronouncing r sounds. When he shook Cedric hand, Cedric's entire hand closed around Riley's entirely and Riley watched it happen as if it was the most amazing thing in the world.

Then Cedric finally said hello to Ella. "Happy fifteeth birthday, Ell," Cedric said, bowing dramatically in front of her and kissing her knuckles.

Ella blushed furiously and shoved at one of Cedric's shoulders. "Oh stop it, you. You're so embarrassing!" Cedric grinned at her, clearly amused.

Margaret held her wrist up to her face and looked at her watch, checking the time. "Well, we better get going, we don't want to be late. Cedric, have you ever been to Kelpipe Avenue before?"

Cedric nodded. "I've been a few times with my dad."

"Brilliant. We're going to the Kelpipe Smokehouse for dinner tonight, so I hope you like steak. You can take the Floo with Ella so you don't get lost."

Jackson and Riley went first, then Ella's mother, so it was just Ella and Cedric standing in Ella's living room, which was abnormally large for such a small house. Cedric pulled her to him immediately and kissed her harshly, good thing Ella had decided not to wear lipstick tonight. When they pulled back they were both panting and looking hungry for something that wasn't steak.

"You look — so incredibly beautiful, Ell," Cedric said smiling at Ella as if she was the most precious thing on the planet.

Ella smiled right back but tugged him into the fireplace. "You don't look too bad yourself, but we have to go before they get suspicious! I don't really want Jackson beating your face in tonight." Cedric laughed as Ella scooped up some Floo powder and said, "Kelpipe Avenue," very clearly.

* * *

The dinner that night went amazingly well. Jackson wasn't being as stoic as usual, probably because he was now allowed to legally order his own mead, and was actually making conversation with Cedric. Riley had also taken an interest in Cedric, even though he couldn't say his name correctly, and Cedric was brilliant with Ella's little brother. It made her heart swell for him even more than it already did. He was very respectful of Ella's mother and listened intently to every story she would tell him.

Cedric and Ella held hands under the table for the entirety of the dinner and he refrained from laughing as best as he could when the Kelpipe Smokehouse staff placed a hat that had tiny fireworks shooting out of it upon her head and sang "Happy Birthday" to her very obnoxiously. They wandered about the avenue a bit more, Ella showing him the areas in which he had never been before. It was an amazing night, really.

They took the Floo home and Ella's family retreated back into their own rooms to give Cedric and Ella some privacy before Cedric went home. "Here," Cedric said, pulling a black velvet box out of his robes and handed it to Ella, "I got you this."

"Oh Ced, you shouldn't have!" Ella said, tears coming to her eyes as she opened the box. What laid inside was a beautiful small heart pendant made out of Onyx and surrounded by tiny white crystals that hung from a thin silver chain. "Oh my god, Cedric!" Ella said her hand covering her mouth and the tears very close to spilling. This — this is beautiful!"

"A beautiful necklace for a beautiful girl," Cedric said, mimicking one of the first compliments he had ever given her from when they ditched class together almost three months ago now. "May I?" he asked, indicating that he wanted to put the necklace. Ella turned around and Cedric took the necklace out of the box and carefully clasped it around Ella's neck after taking George's necklace off and setting it on the coffee table.

When George's necklace left Ella's neck it felt like a part of her was leaving with it. But there was no way she would ever admit that.

Ella turned back to face him and her hand clutched the Onyx pendant. "I love it, Cedric, thank you so much." She cupped his jaw with one of her hands and stood on her toes to kiss him gently. "How about you come over on Monday and I'll give you your Christmas present?"

"It's a date," Cedric said and kissed her once more before stepping into the fireplace. "I'll see you later, love," he said, and then he was gone in a flash of green.


	30. Pictures

Ella sprinted up to her room once Cedric had left, and just as Ella had promised her mother, her room had changed again. The walls were still a cream color, but this time a warmer shade, and the white furniture was gone. Tapestries and band posters, both magical and not, now hung all over, covering most of the wall space, except for one wall, that one was littered with pictures from the past years of Ella's life. All of her friends were there, she had even left the pictures of the twins on the wall. They waved at her happily from their picture and it made Ella's heart swell, but not in the good way like it had done for Cedric.

Her bed was no longer supported by an elegant looking white bed frame, but rather by a thin four-legged wooden one that held her mattress closer to the ground. It was pushed into the corner and had, even more, tapestries and flowing white canopies hanging over it. The mattress was, of course, still smothered with a plethora of pillows and blankets, much too many for one small girl, but they made the bed seem so warm and inviting. As did the small twinkling lights that floated among the room in strings.

The other three corners were occupied by a variety of items that represented different parts of Ella's personality. In one corner, lay her guitar, worn from her many years of playing it. Stickers and engravings were all over it, each encasing a different memory. In another corner was a low table with multiple crystals and candles covering it. Ella wasn't incredibly talented when it came to Divination, and she agreed with Hermione that Professor Trelawney may be a fraud, but she found the concept of spirituality and the "inner eye" very interesting.

But in the last corner was possibly the most representative area of Ella's room, for it was full of her books, her music, and her potions and spells equipment. Her record player was mounted on a small table with a good majority of her vinyls stuffed into it, but they were still overflowing onto the nearby floor and in between books on the shelves. All three of her cauldron sets were strewn out, ingredients scattered on the floor of her makeshift laboratory. Ella had been trying to create a working potion for a few months now, a potion that could make the taker speak any language that they wanted to. She had thus far been extremely unsuccessful.

Ella flew past all of these objects that so blatantly represented her and threw herself onto her bed, pulling out the journal that she used to communicate with Juni. Sure enough, there was already a message from him waiting for her when she opened it. There were singe marks in her wooden drawer from the heat of the journal, but Ella fixed it in no time by pointing her wand at it and saying, "Reparo."

 _ELLA. ARE YOU HOME YET? TELL ME EVERYTHING._

It was so amazing, Juni. It was so good. I don't even know how to describe it.

 _Well, what happened?_

He got here, and he said hi to everyone and he was SO good with everyone. He didn't even flinch when Jackson tried to break his hand. And then we went to dinner and he was so good with Riley! My family loves him.

 _That's so awesome, dude! I'm so happy for you! You are happy, right?_

Yeah, I am. Why?

 _Well, sometimes I just worry about you. . .I know this whole Fred and George thing hasn't been easy for you._

Juni, I'm fine, I swear. I'm over it.

 _You're aren't, but okay. I'm not going to argue with you about it. It's not like I'll get anywhere with how stubborn you are._

Ah, you know me too well, mon ami.

 _Yeah, I think a bit too well sometimes. But anyways, tell me more about Cedric!_

I told him to come over on Monday.

 _Okay. . .and why is that so important?_

Because no one's going to be home. Jackson and Ma have work and Riley is going with my grandparents. I told them I can't go because I have too much schoolwork to do over break.

 _Oh. . .Just don't do anything I wouldn't do, okay?_

Wouldn't dream of it.

Ella drew a little winking smiley face just for good measure, said goodnight to Juni, and placed the journal back in her dresser. She changed out of her dress, washed the makeup off her face, pulled on her pajamas, and snuggled up in her mound of blankets. She was just getting comfortable enough to fall asleep as a realization hit her:

 _George's necklace was still downstairs._

She couldn't pin why, but it felt like somebody had punched her in the gut and she immediately rushed downstairs to grab it. She carried it to her room clutched in her hands, her tartan pajama pants swishing loudly as she walked through the silence of her sleepy household. When she got back to her room she hung the necklace next to a picture of her and George that was pinned to the wall next to her bed.

This particular small bit of wall right next to her pillow was dedicated to those that Ella held nearest to her heart, a handful of enchanted moving pictures that showcased her closest friends.

A picture of her Katie on the night that they had won their first Quidditch match ever. They both had confetti in their hair and were laughing brightly. It was one of the best memories Ella held to date.

A picture of Hermione and Ella in the common room, both of their noses buried in books. The flash of the camera went off and both of the girls' heads snapped up, looking very annoyed, before returning to their books. Ella smiled and chuckled as she thought of Hermione, who reminded her so fiercely of herself.

Another photo, where Ella was sandwiched in between Alicia Spinnet and Angelina Johnson, who were pressing kisses to both of Ella's cheek. Ella looked at the smaller and younger version of herself fondly, things had been so easy back then. Back when Alicia and Angelina weren't caught in the middle of Ella and the twins fighting.

Juni and Ella at the age of five, laying in the sun soaked grass of Ella's backyard, coloring books splayed out in front of them. They were giggling and scribbling madly on the pages with mismatched colors, not even trying to stay in the lines. Ella felt tears welling in her eyes as she fell deeper and deeper into the nostalgic void. It was so odd to see Juni as a female now, but it really showed how far the two of them had come.

The best team that Gryffindor House had had in years, including herself, waved at Ella from the Quidditch pitch at Hogwarts. They had just finished a practice and were all sweaty, panting, and covered in dirt. Harry and Ella's glasses were spattered with rain and mud, but they looked happy, nonetheless.

Ella's heart clenched when her eyes landed on a picture of her and Fred Weasley outside of Zonko's joke shop in Hogsmeade. Snow was falling gently and she and Fred were both grinning, both holding bags full of materials for their latest assaults on Filch. She could see how rosy her cheeks were and the steaming breath flowing out of her mouth as the picture moved.

A single tear rolled down Ella's face and she wiped it away hastily.

If her heart had clenched when she looked at Fred, then she could only describe this feeling as her heart shriveling up when she looked at the picture of her and George. It was right after she had been freed from being petrified and they, along with all of their other friends, were in the common room late at night. All of the nearby seating had been occupied so Ella had sat herself down in George's lap. They both had bottles of butterbeer in their hands and seemed to raise them in cheers to Ella, laughing and beaming.

Ella had to tear her eyes away from the moving photo, it hurt her too much. She flung her glasses off of her face and threw them carelessly onto her bedside table. She didn't care if she had broken them, she could fix them in the morning. She pulled the covers over herself and turned away from the wall, burying her face in one of her pillows and letting her tears stain the pillowcase. She had no intention of crying herself to sleep this morning, but she couldn't help it.

 _She missed them._


	31. New Experiences

Ella bustled around the house, making sure that everything was perfect for when Cedric came over, constantly stopping in the bathroom to check her appearance. Her makeup was done carefully, her hair brushed and styled, her outfit cute and strategically picked. Everything seemed to be in place and she grinned at herself in the mirror, fluffing her hair for the hundredth time that day.

It was half past one in the afternoon when Ella saw a flash of green from her living room as she was looking in the mirror. Cedric was here! Butterflies fluttered in Ella's stomach, as they always seemed to do these days, and she ran out to meet him. This was the most casual that Ella had ever seen Cedric dress, and she loved it. He was wearing a pair of lounge pants and a plain jumper, and Ella suddenly felt very overdressed.

"Hi, love," Cedric said, smiling and holding his arms open and Ella threw herself willingly into them.

"Hi," Ella said sweetly, her voice muffled by Cedric's chest.

They stood there like that for a while, wrapped up in each other, Cedric's hands rubbing up and down Ella's arms. He placed a kiss on the top of her head and said, "You look really nice."

"Thanks," Ella said and grabbed his hand, leading him into the kitchen. "Although, I feel kinda overdressed now that you're here. If I had known you were gonna dress like this I would have just left my pajamas on."

"Do I look bad or something?" Cedric asked jokingly, hopping up on the kitchen island.

"No!" Ella said and laughed. "You just look really cute and comfy and I wish I did too."

"Well, you look beautiful in literally anything you wear, so you could be wearing a burlap sack right now and I'd still find you pretty."

Ella rolled her eyes, even though she was smiling, and opened her fridge. "You're such a dork. Do you want anything?"

"Nah, I already ate with my dad. But if you've got any butterbeer or pumpkin juice I'd be down for that."

Ella produced two bottles of butterbeer from her fridge and handed one to Cedric, keeping one for herself. This was it. This was the moment of truth. "Do you wanna go up to my room?" Ella asked, blushing madly. "It's way comfier than it is down here."

"Uh, sure," Cedric said, color also rising to his cheeks as he followed Ella up to her bedroom. When they got there he let out a low whistle as he was greeted with the large room. "Wow, I did not expect it to look like this at all."

"What?" Ella said nervously, tapping her fingers against her bottle. "Do you not like it?"

"It's not that at all," said Cedric as he grabbed Ella's hand to stop her fiddling. "I love it. It's very you — if that makes sense. Like, I can see all the Muggle stuff you like in here but I can see all the magic stuff too." He moved over to her record player. "Are these all the Muggle bands you like?"

"Mhm," Ella hummed, taking a sip of her butterbeer and plopping herself down on her bed. "There are some wizarding bands thrown in there too, I like the Weird Sisters a lot, but I just like Muggle music a lot more. It's different."

Cedric turned to Ella and smiled. "I love that about you, y'know. I think it's so cool that you know so much about Muggles." He sat down next to her. "And how you dress like a Muggle all the time and talk about 'movies' and stuff. It's cute."

"Thanks," Ella said, looking down and blushing. It was amazing that her shyness still showed after having broken out of her shell so much. "It's really all thanks to Juni. I doubt I'd like all this stuff if it wasn't for him."

"I like Juni," Cedric said, laying back on Ella's bed and making himself comfortable. "He's a cool guy. I hope he likes me."

"He definitely does," said Ella, moving back so that she was cuddling against Cedric.

"Good," Cedric said, wrapping his arm around her. "It'd be best if your friends like me."

"Oh yeah? And why's that?"

Cedric squeezed Ella around her shoulders and gave her another kiss on the top of her head. "Because I intend on sticking around for a while."

* * *

Cedric and Ella spent the next couple of hours up in Ella's room, talking and laughing and learning even more about each other. Ella showed him her Vaselines and Nirvana records, which he had liked, but not as much as Fred and George had, and she showed him a little of how to play guitar. They sat in front of Ella's wall of photos for almost two hours, sifting through photos of Ella ranging all the way from her first birthday all the way up until the last weekend. Now they were laid back out on Ella's bed, Ella humming along to the Weird Sisters and Cedric playing with her hair with his head resting on her chest.

"Shouldn't I be going soon?" Cedric asked, his lips brushing against Ella's neck and making goosebumps rise on her skin. "It's nearly six, won't your mum and brother be home?"

"No," said Ella, playing with the fingers on Cedric's hand that wasn't occupied with her hair. "Ma works at the Ministry, so does Jackson, she got him a job, and she said that it would probably be a late one. Things have been pretty crazy ever since Black broke out of Azkaban."

"Oh, that sucks," Cedric said absentmindedly. "But at least we get more time alone, right?"

"Right," Ella said, looking down and smiling at Cedric.

Cedric craned his neck and kissed Ella, slowly and deliberately moving his body upwards so that he wasn't laying on her anymore. It was like they were picking up where they had left off in King's Cross, except this time there were no interruptions, no distractions. Their lips melded together, moving against each other until they were completely snogging on Ella's bed.

One of Ella's arms wound around Cedric's neck, her other hand resting against his jaw as Cedric's tongue ghosted over her bottom lip. Ella was tentative as she parted her lips, assuming that was what she was supposed to do. She had never been kissed like this before, and the butterflies, ever so persistent in her stomach, were going mad. Cedric's tongue glided against Ella's and one of his hands gripped her blonde hair tightly. Goosebumps covered Ella's skin once more as Cedric pressed their bodies together, but then pulled away.

"Sorry," he said, clearing his throat, "I, uh — I got a little carried away."

Ella stared at him for a few more moments, cheeks flushed and chest rising and falling quickly. ". . .Don't stop," she whispered.

Cedric brushed stray strands of hair from Ella's face, smiling softly. "Are you sure, love?" he asked her in a voice barely louder than Ella's whisper. When Ella nodded he kissed her again, this time harder and more confidently, pulling her body against his.

Ella shocked both herself and Cedric when a quiet moan escaped her lips as they were kissing. To cover up her embarrassment Ella sunk her fingers into Cedric's hair and kissed him even harder to make him forget about it. As if on their own accord, her hips rolled up a little to meet Cedric's and he too groaned quietly. Ella had no idea what she was doing, but Cedric seemed to be enjoying himself so she tried to push her nerves aside.

One of Cedric's hands trailed up from her waist and inched towards one of her breasts and he cupped it as gently as he could, as if she was made of glass and if he applied to much pressure she would shatter underneath him. Ella's breathing sped up and she clutched at his hair even tighter as he groped her breast over her shirt. As one hand was busy doing that, Cedric's other hand was fiddling with the waistband of Ella's skirt, his lips drifting down to her neck.

The fluttery feeling in Ella's stomach intensified even further and she pressed her thighs together when Cedric pressed kisses to her neck. She had no idea that she would love that as much as she did and it made her head all foggy, especially when he bit down gently. Ella let out a strangled kind of gasp when he sucked on her neck, she was so overwhelmed with new feelings that her brain had no idea what to focus on. Cedric's hand started to shift downwards and he rested it on her inner thigh, his palm hot against her skin.

"Is this okay?" He murmured against her neck.

"Yes," Ella breathed, her head tipped back and her eyes closed. She had never felt anything like this before, she couldn't come up with a name for the tingling sensation between her legs, but she enjoyed it. Her body gave a little jolt and all of the air rushed out of her lungs as Cedric hesitantly placed his hand on her over the fabric of her underwear.

Cedric began to rub his hand hesitantly up and down, he really had no idea what he was doing, but Ella's legs were shaking and she was panting so he guessed that he must be doing something right. "Is that — is that. . .good?" he asked her.

"Yes," Ella repeated in that same breathy voice. Her brain was so clouded with lust and teenage desire that she really couldn't come up with any other words.

So Cedric moved his hand up a little, to the waistband of Ella's underwear, and dipped his fingers underneath it. Ella's heart was hammering so hard as his fingers moved closer and closer to her core that she could hear its steady beat in her own ears. Cedric's fingers finally came into contact with the considerable amount of wetness between her thighs and Ella gasped shakily.

"Okay?" Cedric asked her again.

Ella bit her lip to contain herself and nodded at him, and Cedric smiled at her. She found comfort in his smile and it made her feel safe as he moved to kiss her again, both of them grinning into the kiss. They were young and inexperienced and this encounter was new and awkward but it was romantic nonetheless.

Cedric continued to explore Ella's body, slipping his hand under her fitted shirt and feeling her breast over her bra now, his finger underneath her skirt stroking her slowly. Ella was whimpering slightly against Cedric's lips and her hips were rolling against his hand even though she was telling them to. Cedric gathered up enough nerve to slip one of his fingers inside of her and one of Ella's hands flew down to grip his forearm, her nails digging into the skin.

"What?" Cedric asked, tearing his mouth away from Ella's. "Are you okay? Did I hurt you?"

"No no," Ella assured him breathlessly, "it's — it's good, it's just. . .different."

"A good kind of different?"

"A great kind of different," Ella said quietly, looking into Cedric's scared eyes and watching the fear melt from them happily.

"Brilliant," said Cedric, withdrawing his finger from her and pulling her underwear down her legs slowly. Thank goodness Ella had decided on a skirt for today, it made this whole ordeal a lot easier. His hand resumed what it had been doing a moment before and he slid his finger back into her, moaning softly at how wet she was.

Ella pulled him back down to her and kissed him fiercely so she didn't make too much noise, although she groaned into the kiss as Cedric began to pump his finger in and out of her slowly. There was a feeling in her abdomen that she could only describe as though there was a spring coil inside of her tightening. As one of his school mates had advised him to do, Cedric curved his finger up slightly and Ella's body jolted once more and she let out a kind of squeak. It must have worked. So Cedric continued to move his finger in and out of Ella, speeding up gradually and bending his finger on occasion, and Ella didn't think she had ever felt something this good.

"Ced," Ella said, stopping in the middle of her sentence to moan, "Ced I-I think I'm getting close," she whimpered.

"Okay," said Cedric, not exactly knowing what to say but not stopping the ministrations with his hands, "just a bit more, babe, just a bit more."

He kept pumping and curving his finger and then suddenly, the spring coil broke and Ella's back arched and her toes curled. Pleasure hit her in waves and she had no words to describe what she was feeling. She tried to moan, but she could only produce small whimpers as her eyes rolled back into her head.

Cedric's fingers slowed to a halt and when Ella had visibly calmed, he removed them, and without knowing what else to do, he licked them clean of her wetness. Ella watched him in awe, not expecting him to do that at all, her chest still heaving. The waves had stopped hitting her, but her hands felt a little shaky and her whole body was still tingling.

"That was. . .wow," Ella sighed, running her fingers through her hair and smiling lazily at Cedric.

"Yeah?" Cedric said happily, ignoring the tightness in his own pants. "It was good? I've never done that before so. . ."

"You've never done that before?" Ella asked, stunned. "I would have figured you have plenty of experience, what with you being one of the cutest guys in the school and all."

Cedric shrugged. "I dunno, I guess I just never found anyone worth doing anything with before you."

Ella giggled and color flushed to her cheeks again. "So you've never done anything before?"

"Nope," said Cedric timidly, avoiding eye contact with Ella.

"Well," Ella drawled, placing her hand on Cedric's thigh and smiling wolfishly, making his breath catch in his throat, "let's change that, shall we?"


	32. New Year's Eve, 1993

Ella arrived in Juni's living room in a large burst of green flame. "Happy New Year!" she bellowed as she stepped out of the fireplace, carrying a bag full of snacks and drinks with her.

"Hey!" Juni said excitedly and rushed over to meet Ella and take her bag. "Happy New Year, thanks so much for coming!"

"Pft," Ella said and flopped onto Juni's elegant couch as if it was her own, "as if I'd want to be anywhere else!"

"Well, you did spend celebrate the new year with the Weasleys last year."

Ella rolled her eyes dramatically. "Oh yeah, I'm sure that would work out great this year. 'Hey Mrs. Weasley, your sons and I haven't spoken properly in months and they won't swallow their pride enough to apologize and I cry almost every two weeks over it. How are you, though?' Sounds like fun."

"You're so overly dramatic," Juni said, rolling his own eyes. "Why don't you apologize to them first?"

"What do I have to apologize for?" Ella yelled, appalled that Juni would even suggest that. "I haven't done anything! They aren't speaking to me because George won't get over his feelings and accept that I'm happy with Ced and Fred is just siding with him!"

"There! Right there!" Juni said smugly, pointing at Ella. "See what I mean? Dramatic!" There was knock at the door and Juni got up to get it. "That's probably Katie." He turned around as he was walking so he was facing Ella. "You're going to have to make up with them eventually, y'know. I can tell you miss them. George especially."

"I do not," Ella said stubbornly and twisted away from Juni, pouting. She pulled out a box of Fizzing Whizbees and began popping them into her mouth angrily.

"Hey, Happy New Year!" Juni said after he opened the door to reveal their friend, Katie Bell.

"Happy New Year to you too," Katie said and hugged Juni. She held out a box to him. "I brought a cake."

"Oh hell yes!" Ella shouted from the living room and ran over to Juni and Katie. "Did I just hear someone say cake?"

"Yes, you did," Katie laughed. "Honestly Ella, you have a bottomless pit for a stomach."

"Hey! Just because I like to eat does _not_ mean that I'm a bottomless pit!"

"So then should I just pretend that I didn't see you snacking on Fizzing Whizbees not two minutes ago?" Juni said with a smirk as he placed the cake in his fridge.

Ella shoved him and laughed. "You keep the attitude up and I won't let you have any of the 'refreshments' that I brought!"

"Ooh! So you did bring them?" Katie said eagerly.

"You bet I did," said Ella smugly. "You guys don't want to start on them now, do you? I mean, it's only seven." She pondered for a moment and then smiled at her two best friends. "Although, I'm sure a glass or two of elderflower wine couldn't hurt. Juni, you said your parents won't be home until way later, right?"

"Yeah," Juni assured them, "they're at some New Year's charity event for the hospital or something and they usually stay out until like one in the morning when they go to those."

So the two girls, followed by Juni who was carrying glasses and ice, rushed back into the living room, giggling. Ella pulled the bottle of elderflower wine out of her bag and showed it off brilliantly before pouring glasses for each of them.

"To the new year!" Ella said, raising her glass in cheers.

"To the new year!" Katie and Juni echoed, clinking their glasses against Ella's and each others before taking their first sips of the alcoholic beverage. Katie pulled a face, it was certainly stronger than butterbeer.

"You all right there, Katie?" Ella said, chortling at Katie's reaction.

"Yes!" Katie said defensively. "I'm just new to this is all. We all can't be a lush like you, Ella!"

Ella laughed loudly at that. "Yeah okay, _Cho_!" All three of them laughed at that as they recalled when Juni had threatened Cho after she had insulted Ella.

"Too bad she decided to be a baby," Juni said, feigning sadness. "She really is missing a good night."

"You got that right," Ella declared and reached back into her bag. "Because not only is she missing out on us, but she's missing out on this." And she placed a large bottle of firewhisky proudly on the table.

"This is gonna be such a good night," Katie said, exchanging smiles with her two friends.

* * *

A few hours, an entire bottle of wine, and half the bottle of firewhisky later, Katie, Ella, and Juni were so intoxicated that they could barely even speak to each other. None of them had ever drunk heavily before, but they were young and they were curious, so they might have overdone it a bit.

"Oh my god, I leeerve you guysss," Katie slurred as she leaned against Ella. "Yer guys are my bestest friends in the whoooole world."

"Gerroff me!" Ella said and shoved Katie, who fell against the couch giggling and hiccuping. "Kat, y-you are so sssssloshed!"

"No I am not I am the ssoberist girl in the room what would make you think I-I'm slosheded?"

"Ella, you c-can't —" Juni, who was laying on the floor, halted in the middle of his sentence to hiccup and laugh, "y-you can't even talk right!"

"She's not Ella!" Ella said, pointing to Katie and then pointing to herself. "I'm Elller! Elsa! Ella! El — la!"

Katie laughed drunkenly from her spot on the couch. "N-now who can't talk correctedively?" She hiccuped again and burped loudly. "G-guys I thank we drunk tooooo of the alcohol."

"Did you mean to said _too m-much_?" Ella said as though she was the smartest person in the room.

"YES!" Katie said, slapping herself in the forehead before standing up quickly and almost falling over. "GUYS! _WE HAVE CAKE_!" And all three of them got up and stumbled clumsily into Juni's kicthen on their hunt for the cake.

"Guys!" Juni said, half of his body submerged unnecessarily in his refrigerator. "I founded it!" He slammed the cake down onto the counter of the kitchen island and all three teens clambered onto the barstools surrounding it. Juni ripped the lid off of the container and Ella's face fell dramatically.

"FROCKS! FORKS!" Katie said, slipping off her seat and ambling around Juni's kitchen looking for the utensils. Once she found them she grabbed an entire handful of about seven, four more than necessary, and threw them back onto the counter. She took a great amount of effort to pull herself back onto the barstool and her and Juni dug into the cake. Ella just sat there, staring at the cake with a dead expression.

"Ewwa," Juni said around a mouthful of cake, "wuss wron?"

"Ch-chocolate crack —," her lip started to tremble, "Choclate cake is G-Georgie's favrite!" Ella wailed and put her head down in her arms, beginning to cry.

"Noooooo, Ella!" Katie whined, the cake forgotten. "Don' cry! Issokay, babe, issokay! We're here! We're her f-fer you!"

"I m-miss him!" Ella sobbed, her head still buried in her arms. "Obvernesly I miss F-Fred too! B-but Georgie is difrent! He's — he's _MINE_!"

"Whaddaya mean?" Juni asked, rubbing Ella's back in an attempt to comfort his drunken best friend.

"ImisshimsomuchandIdon'tknowwhattodo!" Ella cried, stringing her words together to the point where Juni and Katie could barely understand her. "F-Fred telled me Georgie likes me and thas why he won t-talk to meeee! B-but I like him too! But I c-couldn't wait foreverd!"

"Why don't you juss breek up with Cedcir then?" Katie asked, looking suddenly exhausted. "'Cause I thinked that — oh god!" Katie said suddenly and stumbled over to the kitchen sick, vomiting up the contents of her stomach. Thank goodness there were no dishes in it.

Juni, still wasted but the soberest of the three pulled out his wand, flicked his wrist and muttered a spell when Katie had finished and made the vomit disappear so he didn't have to deal with it in the morning. "I think we should go sleep now, g-guys," he said, dragging the still crying Ella out of her seat.

Katie, who had slid down onto the kitchen floor whined, "Nooo! Ish not even midnert yet!"

"I fink we've drunked enough fer this t-time," Juni said as he pulled Ella up the stairs to his room, tripping and stumbling along the way, Katie trailing drunkenly behind them. Juni let Ella fall into his bed and made his way downstairs to clean up so his parents wouldn't know they had been drinking. Once that was finished he collapsed into his humongous bed with his friends, who were already passed out.

* * *

Ella woke in the morning with a splitting headache and she groaned. When she tried to open her eyes the sunlight shining through the windows stung and she hissed. She shielded her eyes with her hands and tried opening them again, seeing her friends still asleep next to her. She practically fell out of bed and scrambled for her bag, looking for the potion she had brewed for this very occasion. She took a swig of it and grimaced, she felt better within seconds, but it tasted even more bitter than the firewhiskey they had drunk the night before. She sighed in relief when her headache faded away, her nausea disappeared, and she could open her eyes without any pain.

"Oi, Juni," Ella said and nudged Juni awake. He groaned and looked like he was going to be sick for a moment before Ella shoved the potion at him. "Here, drink this, you'll feel better." He did as he was told and just as Ella had said, he felt better almost instantly. "Now, let's see if I can give this to Katie before she throws up again," she said while chuckling.

"Katie! Katie! Here, drink this," Ella ordered Katie as she stirred awake, looking even more sick than Juni had. But that faded quickly after Katie took a large swig of the potion.

"Thanks," Katie said, laying back against the pillows and sighing. "Well, that was a fun night."

"Yeah," Juni agreed, sitting up and stretching. "You guys wanna go downstairs and get some breakfast?"

"God, yes! I'm starving!" Katie said, throwing the covers off of her. "What time is it anyways?"

Ella looked at her watch as they left Juni's room. "It's ten-thirty. Juni, are your parents up?"

Juni snorted as they walked into the kitchen. "Hell no, they usually sleep till noon after those charity events. They wear them out a lot." He started waving his wand about, breakfast food flying about the room. In about fifteen minutes they had some very elegant French toast prepared that they all began to scarf down greedily.

"Do you guys even remember anything from last night?" Ella asked quietly. "I don't."

Katie laughed. "I remember puking after you going off on a tangent about George."

"Oh god," Ella groaned, "what did I say?"

Before Katie could answer Juni cut in and said, "You said that he was a right foul git and that you wanted to jinx him into next week for acting like such an idiot."

"Well, that is true," Ella said and finished her glass of pumpkin juice. "I'm going to the bathroom, I'll be right back."

Once Ella was out of the room Katie leaned into Juni and whispered, "Why did you lie to her?"

"Because she was wasted when she said admitted how she feels," Juni sighed. "She has to admit that to herself when she's sober," he added. "But knowing how stubborn Ella is, who knows if that'll ever happen."


	33. Reunited

After everything that had been going on, between Ella comforting Hermione because she had been fighting with Ron over Scabbers, Ella's own "fight" with the twins, rigorous Quidditch training, and trying to make time for Cedric, Ella was ecstatic to have a night of fun where she could just relax for once. Gryffindor had finally won a match, and to make it even better, it was against Ravenclaw. Ever since Cho and Ella had fought, Ella had been hellbent on beating Ravenclaw and she got her wish that day. Now everyone was gathered up in the Gryffindor common room celebrating their victory, and Ella was sitting on the sofa with a butterbeer and her guitar, trying to teach Oliver how to play.

"No no," Ella said while laughing, "you have to be gentler, Oliver." She moved his hands so that his fingers were settled on the strings to play the correct chord. "Okay, now try again."

Oliver strummed, too hard once again, and the chord sounded too loud and distorted. Ella covered her mouth to keep from laughing, and Oliver was laughing too. "I'm no good at this, Ella. I'm built for Quidditch, not guitar. Here," he shoved the guitar into Ella's hands, "you do it."

Ella almost dropped her bottle of butterbeer, but accepted her guitar. "Well, maybe if you learned how to play then you'd have an easier time wooing Flint."

"You stop that!" Oliver said and ruffled her hair, he was blushing. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Yeah, okay," Ella said and rolled her eyes, even though she smiled, and she started to play her guitar. Nothing, in particular, she was just strumming random notes and chords, stringing them into a melody, and people began to listen to her play. She sat there, illuminated by the fire and playing her guitar, the soft smile that she always had when playing guitar shined on her face, and George sat across the room, watching her.

"Why don't you just go and talk to her?" Lee asked him. "Fred has."

George's eyes were focused solely on Ella and his fists were clenched at his sides. "Since when were you talking to her again, Fred?"

"Well, It's not really talking per say," Fred said, "I just say hi to her in the halls and stuff. And I, uh, — I might have apologized to her?"

"And when did that happen?"

"I mean, is it _that_ important?"

"Yes!"

"Then if it's that important," Lee said, "why don't you go say something to her? It's obvious that you miss her, and she misses you too, y'know."

"No she doesn't," George said shortly. "Why would she miss me? She has Cedric," he sneered the word Cedric as if it left a disgusting taste in his mouth.

"Yes, she does."

"How do you know?"

"Because she told me, you git!" Lee said and smacked George on the shoulder. "Why are you being so stubborn? You miss her, she misses you. It's simple. Just go over there and apologize and it'll make your life a million times better."

"I don't have anything to apologize for."

"Yes, you do and you know it! Look at her. Look at how happy she is right now and tell me, honestly, that you're okay with not being a part of it."

And he did, he looked at her and it made him squirm in his seat. She was playing her guitar and laughing as Oliver tried to clap along, but his innate lack of musical rhythm made it quite difficult. She looked so beautiful, even though George preferred her red hair, blonde still looked amazing on her. Especially when the light of the fire reflected off it and made her basically glow. The flush that appeared on her freckled cheeks when she laughed particularly hard was present and it made George's skin crawl. He used to make her laugh like that. And now that he thought about it, Ella hadn't addressed him directly in months, and vice versa. A fire suddenly lit itself in his stomach and he was overcome with the urge to hear her voice again.

"I'm doing it," He said sternly and began to walk over to Ella, Fred and Lee looking relieved behind him. When he got to Ella she didn't even look at him.

He cleared his throat and she finally tore her attention from Oliver. "Can I help you?" she asked him, an eyebrow raised.

When her eyes met George's his heart leapt into his throat. Her bright blue irises were boring into his brown ones and they seemed even brighter because of the bright red lipstick painted on her mouth. "Can we talk?"

Ella gaped at him as if that was the most ludicrous thing she had ever heard. "You want to — we — and you —you just — _are you fucking kidding me_?"

"No. We need to talk."

Ella stood up, shoving her guitar to the side and grabbing George by the collar of his shirt and practically dragged him out of the common room. "Hasn't spoken to me in months and just walks up to me and says he wants to talk. I can't believe this arsehole," Ella mumbled under her breath as she walked through the halls looking for an abandoned classroom. She finally found one and all but threw George into it and slammed the door behind her. "Explain yourself," She said, crossing her arms and tapping her foot impatiently.

"Ella, I don't even know where to start. I guess all I wanna say is I'm sorry," George said and ran his hands through his hair nervously. He didn't like it when Ella was mad at him and it was finally showing.

"You're _sorry_?"

"Yes."

"And what are you sorry _for_?"

"I don't know!" said George, shrugging helplessly. "For being a prat, I guess? For not talking to you and being big headed and stupid and just. . .I just miss you, Ellie."

"Oh, so _now_ you miss me! And where was all of this months ago?'

"Ella, I _told_ you —"

"No!" Ella cut him off and strode toward him, punctuating every few words with a jab of her finger to his chest. "You didn't talk to me for months because I finally found someone who actually had the stones to ask me out! I was happy with someone else and you just couldn't handle it, could you? Well, news flash, George! I'm not going to pretend like other boys don't exist just because you can't get over your stupid little crush on me!

And while we're on the subject of other boys, I am very happy with Cedric! And I intend to stay with him for a long while so you can just get over it! So stop giving him the evil eye during all the classes you have with him because you're just being so stupid. And if you thought that this little 'talk' was going to get me to break up with him, then you're wrong. Get over yourself!"

George waited for a mere few seconds, listening to Ella's heavy breathing as his hands shook. "Are you done?"

"Yes, I'm done," Ella seethed.

"Good. Well, just so you know, I _am_ over it," he lied straight to her face. "That's why it took me so long to talk to you again. I liked you, Ella, I really did, but I _did_ get over it. I needed to stay away from you because it hurt a lot to see you with Cedric. I wanted you to be happy. And I'm glad that you are, honestly. So," he held his hands up in recognition, "do with that what you will, but I'm sorry.

I never meant to hurt you, I just needed space. I knew that if I stayed close to you that I'd probably snap at you at some point, and I know how you react when I snap at you, so I backed off for a bit."

Ella was still livid. "So you figured that leaving me without an explanation would be better? How thick are you, George Weasley? _You — abandoned — me_! Do you have any idea how much that hurt? How confused I was?"

"Ella," George said calmly, placing his hands on her shoulders, and to his surprise, she didn't flinch away, "I'm — sorry. I know that you're angry but please, accept this apology. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He pulled her into a hug, and Ella was shocked yet still angry. She knew that George was sensitive and more emotional than Fred, but he rarely ever showed it. She was still infuriated with him but felt her reserve crumble when he said quietly, "You're still my best friend, Donnie."

Tears welled in Ella's eyes as her own emotions took hold of her, and she hugged him back slowly. And they stood there for what felt like hours, just holding each other in the silence of the empty classroom. They separated at last and Ella wiped a tear away from her cheek. "I missed you too," she admitted.

George smiled at her for the first time in months, and the butterflies were back. "I know you did, how could you not? I mean, look at me," he said, gesturing proudly to himself.

"Hey," Ella snapped and pointed a finger at him, "we _just_ made up. Don't push your luck, Weasley. Now, let's get out of here. I don't trust Oliver with my guitar."

They both laughed and stepped out of the classroom, and as they meandered back to the common room George said, "Hey, Ella, would you mind if we, uh, didn't tell anyone about all that?"

"Yes, I won't tell anyone that you're a big softie under that troublemaker bravado," Ella said as she pushed open the portrait after saying the password. "Don't worry, Georgie, your secret is safe with me."


	34. Make up and Break up

Ella walked quickly through one of the school's outdoor corridors, eager to get out of the brisk cold and back into the castle. The cool February air nipped at her skin, but she was too preoccupied with everything else going on to even focus on it. Sirius Black had broken into Hogwarts again, this time managing to get into Gryffindor tower, Hermione had told her that Buckbeak had lost his hearing, security measures at the school had been increased, and Ella's relationship with Cedric was more strained than it had ever been. Now that Ella and the twins had made up they were back to pulling pranks on Filch and other students, which left less time for Cedric. Not to mention that Oliver had stepped up practices now that Gryffindor was getting closer and closer to the finals.

"Hey, Ella!" she heard a very familiar voice call out to her and Ella brushed it off, continuing to walk, but they caught up to her. "Ella, please, wait."

"Cho, I'm really not in the mood for another argument today," Ella said and continued to walk, not even looking in Cho's direction.

"Ella, please, just hear me out," Cho said desperately, stopping Ella near the main courtyard. "Please, I want to talk to you."

"Oh, about what? Do you wanna insinuate that two of my closest friends are using me again? I really liked it when you did that last time."

"No, Ella, please, just listen to me. I just want to say I'm sorry for that. I wanted to apologize the second after I left, but I knew you were really mad, and I don't know if you know, but you're really scary when you're angry. I really miss you, Ella. Katie and Juni too. I really am sorry. Like, you have no idea."

Ella laughed. "Are you serious? You haven't talked to me in weeks, no, months, and I'm supposed to just forgive you?"

"Well, no, but —"

"I mean, I do." Cho looked at Ella like she was speaking another language. "Forgive you, mean. We miss you too. I miss you, Cho. And I'm sorry too, I acted like kind of a bitch, I was being really stupid. I was just mad at you for hanging out with Marietta all the time because it made me feel like you forgot about us."

"Seriously? You're just gonna forgive me like that? No screaming? No tears? Nothing? This is very unlike you, Ella."

Ella shrugged and began walking again, this time with Cho. "I mean, yes, I was very upset with you at first, but I've had a while to think about it and I realized how thick I was being. I know that I can be pretty hot headed sometimes but I also know when to swallow my massive pride, build a bridge, and get over it.

"Thank goodness," Cho sighed, relieved. "I was hoping you'd be less upset by now. You really have no idea how intimidating you can be, even to your friends."

"You must be joking," Ella said and tried to laugh that thought off. Was she really that harsh? "There is no way that little old me is that intimidating."

Cho laughed with her. "Oh yes, yes, you are."

"Well," Ella said, tugging Cho into the castle and towards the library, "c'mon. I have a lot to update you on. Especially, Cedric."

And the two girls scurried into the library, quietly giggling as Ella told Cho all the stories of her and Cedric, making sure to include what happened between the two of them when no one was around.

* * *

Ella stifled a yawn as she and Cedric sat in one of the abandoned classrooms, one of the only places they could really find some privacy. Dating a prefect had its perks. Ella could barely keep her eyes open, she was exhausted and she was going to nap earlier, except she had gotten all caught up with Cho. And she couldn't blow off Cedric again, she needed to make time for him, so she just muscled through it.

"I made up with Cho today, did I tell you that already?" Ella said sleepily.

Cedric chuckled. "Yeah, babe, you told me when we were leaving dinner. I think you've been missing out on too much sleep."

"M'sorry I'm so tired," Ella mumbled as she combed her fingers through her hair. "I was up super late last night again."

"With what?" Cedric asked as he thumbed through his Transfiguration book.

"I was helping Fred and George with their Potions homework. Fred got it pretty quick and went up to bed, but George," Ella sighed, "that took forever. I don't know what it was, he just couldn't get it." She stifled another yawn. "I was up past midnight helping him with it. I was going to take a nap earlier but Cho and I had a lot to catch up on.

"Not to mention that George dragged me out of the tower for this whole week because Fred got late detention with Snape for trying to sabotage Adrian Pucey's potion. So, I've been getting in super late for the past couple of nights."

"Yeah," Cedric said, closing his book, "Ella, about that. . .we need to talk."

Ella's insides froze and she could already feel her hands start to shake. "What do you mean?"

"I mean we need to talk about what we're going to do about us."

"Ced, what do you mean? I don't understand," Ella said, worry evident in her eyes and voice.

Cedric twisted around in his chair to her was facing Ella, and when she did the same, he grabbed both of her hands in his. "Ella, I love you, but —"

"No," Ella groaned, squeezing Cedric's hands, "not a 'but.' I know what that means."

"Please, let me finish. I love you, but I don't think this is going to work out anymore, Ell. I just don't see how it can."

"But — you and I — we — I thought we were so happy — and you —" Ella stuttered, trying to find the right words to express herself, "but, Ced, I love you."

"I love you too, but, no, you don't love me," Cedric said and cupped one of Ella's cheeks in his hand as he had done so many times before. "You know you don't, Ella. There's someone else for you, and it's pretty obvious."

"What?" Ella said placing her hand over Cedric's to try and stop him from slipping away from her. "No, there isn't! There isn't anyone else, Ced, I swear."

Cedric chuckled again and Ella thought his attitude was way too nonchalant for a breakup. "Ella, it's very obvious that there's someone else. I know who it is, and I think you do too, and I just can't compete with that," he said and swallowed a lump in his throat. "You have no idea how hard this is for me, to let you go like this, but I need to be the bigger person here. I want to see you happy."

"But, Ced, I am happy. I'm happy with you," Ella said desperately.

"You can be so much happier, though, Ella," said Cedric as he leaned his forehead against Ella's. "Like I said, there's someone else in your life, and I can't compete with that. It's not fair to me, and honestly, it's not fair to you."

Ella had stopped arguing at this point, even though she was on the verge of crying. It was quite clear who Cedric was talking about and that he wasn't changing his mind on the matter. "So, is this goodbye?" Ella said softly, fighting off tears.

"Merlin, no," Cedric said, a remorseful smile on his face. "I don't think I could ever say goodbye to you, Ella, I still want you in my life. Before we were dating you were such a good friend. I don't wanna lose someone like that."

Ella nodded sadly and sighed. "So, that's it? We're over?"

Cedric sighed too, staying connected to Ella, though, and wiping a tear from her cheek. "It won't be that easy, though, at least, not for me. It'll take some healing, but in time, I promise we'll be friends."

"Can I at least get a goodbye kiss?" Ella asked, resting her hands on their familiar spots on either side of Cedric's jaw.

"Of course," Cedric said and pressed his lips against Ella's for the last time, gently, savoring the feeling that neither of them would ever experience again. When he pulled away he smiled sadly at her. "I'm gonna miss that."

"Me too," Ella said with an equally sad smile and watched as he gathered up his things and wandered over to the door. "Hey, Ced!" she said before he could walk away.

"Yeah?" he said and poked his head back in the classroom.

"I want you to be happy too. You know that right?"

Cedric smiled at her again, some of the sadness ebbing away this time. "I know. And I will be, I'll just need some time. Goodnight, Ell," he said before closing the door.

"Goodnight, Ced," Ella murmured to the now empty classroom as she was left to ponder what had just happened. She wiped away her tears and rested her head in her hands.

What did mean by "someone else?"

 _You definitely know who he was talking about._

No, I don't. I only wanted to be with Cedric, he made me so happy.

 _Yes, he made you happy, but you know who could make you happier. Who already does make you happier. He's been making you happy since you were eleven years old._

No! There's no way. He's over it. He's over me. And besides, I never liked him.

 _Lies. Even your own boyfriend knew that you have feelings for him. Why don't you just give in and go for it?_

So Ella sat there for what felt like ages, arguing with herself. She knew that Cedric was right, that there was someone else, but she just couldn't bring herself to admit it. He didn't see her like that anymore, she had already missed her shot. So what was the point anymore?


	35. Ella's Fine

"So, that's it then? You're finished? He broke up with you?" Juni said on the train ride to Hogsmeade the next morning. He, Ella, Katie, and Cho had decided to take the early train in so they could get breakfast in the small village.

"Yeah," Ella sighed. "I really didn't see that one coming. I thought we were doing so well! I mean, we'd been dating for what, three months? And all of a sudden he doesn't think it's going to work? What's that all about?"

"Well," Katie said hesitantly, "I can think of maybe one reason why he would think that."

"Oh yeah? And that would be?"

"I mean, you have been spending a lot of time with Fred and George, George specifically, he probably felt threatened."

Ella crossed her arms and blew a stray strand of hair out of her eyes. "Threatened? Why would he be threatened?"

"Oh, honestly, Ella," Juni said, rubbing his temples, "do we have to have this conversation again?"

"I don't like him! I never have! And besides, he has no reason to feel threatened by George. When we made up he told me that he got over his crush on me and that he wanted me to be happy with Cedric."

"And you honestly believed him?" said Cho. "You two have been falling for each other harder and harder every year. Do you _really_ think that he just 'got over it?' That's ridiculous."

"Yes, I believed him!" Ella said, suddenly blushing very hard. "And I don't think you all are acting properly after your friend has been broken up with! Shouldn't you be comforting me and showering me with sweets and compliments to make me feel better or something?"

The other three laughed. "You really are a piece of work, Ella," Juni said, still chortling. "No wonder Cedric couldn't handle you anymore."

"Hey!" Ella shouted, smacking Juni on the arm. "Too soon! He just broke up with me last night, I'm still upset."

"Oh, please," Juni said as he leaned on his best friend. "I know you. You're fine."

Ella didn't want to admit it to him, but Juni was right, she really did feel fine, and that's what was upsetting her. Sure, she had only spent a little over three months with Cedric, but shouldn't she be a wreck over the breakup? Ella felt like she should be holed up in her dorm and pining over Cedric, clutching the necklace he had given her to her chest. But she wasn't, she was here, on the train to Hogsmeade with her friends, feeling almost as normal as ever. It confused her and infuriated her all at the same time.

So for the rest of the train ride, the four of them decided to steer the conversations clear of Cedric or George, Ella instead focusing the attention onto Juni. She had been badgering him about his crush on Cormac McLaggen for the past few months, and she had no intention of stopping until he admitted it. (I'm telling you, Ella, I like _Padma_!" Juni had insisted fervently.) The rest of the journey to Hogsmeade had gone swimmingly, and when the three girls (and Juni) got off the train they were laughing and ready for a day on the town.

* * *

"And you're totally okay with this?" Fred asked as he sat across from Ella and next to his brother in the Three Broomsticks later that day. "He broke up with you and you just — don't care?"

"Not necessarily," Ella said thoughtfully, wiping the foam from her butterbeer off of her upper lip. "It's not that I don't care — I do — I've just accepted it I suppose." She shrugged and continued to sip on her drink as the two boys across from her ogled at her as if she was mad. "What?" Ella asked, annoyed at their staring.

"We're just surprised is all," Fred spoke again, George was being oddly quiet, "we thought you really liked Cedric. So, now that you're broken up it's just kind of weird that you're not more sad about it, I guess."

"Yeah, I know. I dunno what it is," Ella said looking into the swirling warm liquid in her cup, "I'm just. . .fine. That is weird, isn't it?" George had this strange little smile on his face and when Ella looked up at him she narrowed her eyes. "What are you smiling about?"

"Nothing," George said unconvincingly, "I'm just excited to stop by Zonko's before we head back to the school."

"Yeah, okay," Ella said, not buying his story at all, and it made butterflies flutter in her stomach again. Just like it had before she had started going with Cedric. Her brilliant and eager mind began putting the pieces together before she could stop it.

 _You know why he's smiling._

No, I don't. Who knows maybe he's actually just excited to go to Zonko's.

 _Don't be thick. He goes to Zonko's on every Hogsmeade trip, but it isn't every day that your boyfriend breaks up with you. He has a chance again._

No, he doesn't! He doesn't even like me like that anymore. He told me.

 _Yeah, okay sweetheart. Keep telling yourself that._

For the rest of their stay at Hogsmeade that day Ella stayed with Fred and George. She had eaten breakfast with her other friends and done some shopping, but she spent a majority of the day with the twins. As they wandered through shops Ella and George's hand would occasionally brush against each other's and they would spring away as though branded by a scalding iron. And to add to that, Fred kept leaving them alone as often as he could. They had never been awkward around each other before, but something had changed.

* * *

Later that night when Ella got back up to her dorm she felt happier than she had in weeks, she had had a fantastic day despite being broken up with the night prior. But her good mood came crashing done quickly as soon as she saw Hermione. She was sprawled across Katie's bed, crying loudly as Karie helplessly tried to comfort her.

"'Mione, what's wrong?" Ella asking, rushing over to the other two girls.

"B-Buckbeak's been sentenced to death," Hermione blubbered into Katie's arms. "You know how I told you that he lost the trial? Well, the verdict got announced today! He's being executed!"

"Oh no!" Ella said as her heart sank at the news. Ella knew how Hermione hated when creatures were treated unfairly, and seeing her cry made Ella feel awful. She scooped Hermione into her arm and rocked her as she cried. "Shh, 'Mione, it'll be okay. Stop crying, everything is going to work out."

"What do we do?" Katie mouthed desperately to Ella.

"I have no idea," Ella mouthed back silently as she held Hermione.


	36. The Quidditch Final

"And here are the Gryffindors!" Ella heard Lee's voice boom out over the stadium, and her hand started to quake in Katie's. "Potter, Bell, Johnson, Stirling, Weasley, Weasley, and Wood. Widely acknowledged as the best team Hogwarts has seen in a good few years —" Ella heard loud booing from the Slytherin side and rolled her eyes. Lee introduced the Slytherin team, but Ella had tuned out and was trying to focus on the game. She had to admit, not having Jackson here in her corner made her a bit nervous for some reason.

She saw Oliver and Marcus "shake hands," and before she knew it, they were off and playing. "And it's Gryffindor in possession, Ella Stirling of Gryffindor with the Quaffle," Lee's voiced echoed as Ella raced over the pitch, "heading straight for the Slytherin goal posts, looking good, Ella!" Ella's heart thundered as she neared the posts but then Warrington somehow intercepted her and she lost the Quaffle, fury burning inside her. But her rage was slightly sated (and her heart thundered _just a bit_ more) as George smacked a Bludger right into Warrington.

"Gryffindor back in possession, come on, Angelina —" _Yes, come on, Angelina!_ "Nice swerve around Montague — _duck, Angelina, that's a Bludger!_ " Ella flew as fast as she could to help defend Angelina. "SHE SCORES! TEN-ZERO TO GRYFFINDOR!"

Ella felt relief flood her chest, but it wasn't over yet, and she and Katie high-fived as they zoomed past each other, but their joy was soon turned to outrage as Flint very deliberately tried to knock Angelina off her broom. And before George could stop him, Fred was throwing his Beater's club at the back of Flint's head, causing his face to hit his broom and his nose to start bleeding.

"That will do!" Yelled Madam Hooch, flying between them. "Penalty shot to Gryffindor for an unprovoked attack on their Chaser! Penalty shot to Slytherin for deliberate damage to _their_ Chaser!

"Come off it, Miss!" Fred howled, but Ella hit him upside the head.

"Will you shut up before you make it worse, Fred? Merlin!" Ella said exasperatedly as Madam Hooch blew her whistle and Ella flew forward to take the penalty.

"Come on, Ella!" Lee yelled into the silence. "YES! SHE'S BEATEN THE KEEPER! TWENTY-ZERO TO GRYFFINDOR!"

When Ella flew back to her team, swamped with high fives and slaps on the back, she heard Fred whisper as he rubbed where Ella had hit him, "George, that was a beautiful penalty shot, but please, control your woman," and Ella had to refrain from snatching the club out of his hand and beating him with it.

The game continued on quite smoothly until Montague, a Slytherin Chaser, purposefully grabbed Katie's head instead of the Quaffle. Katie was hurled into the air and stayed on her broom, thank goodness, but unfortunately dropped the Quaffle.

The shrill screech of Madam Hooch's whistle pierced the air once again and she soared over to Montague and began yelling at him. Within the next minute, Katie had scored another penalty shot for Gryffindor.

The game quickly turned into one of the dirtiest that Ella had ever played. Penalties (most of which going to Gryffindor) were flying every which way and minor injuries popped up every few minutes. Even Harry had pulled out some stops and caused the two Slytherin Beaters to run right into each other. If Ella hadn't been so focused and hell-bent on beating Slytherin, she would have laughed. Not soon after, Bole, one of the Slytherin Beaters, hit Ella with his club and tried to play if off by saying he thought she was a Bludger. George was furious and elbowed Bole in the face, which caused Ella to see George Weasley in a whole new light.

The match continued, and Malfoy had brought on a penalty by literally grabbing Harry by the broom and trying to pull him away from the Snitch. It was such a dirty move that McGonagall didn't even stop Lee from yelling at him but instead joined in. Ella wouldn't have been able to keep track of who was winning without Lee's (biased) commentary because her head was spinning from all of the chaos of this game.

Fairly soon, Ella saw Harry dive downwards and her heart skipped a beat. _Had he seen it? Had Malfoy seen it? Who would get it? Would they finally win? Would Wood finally get his wish?_ She looked towards Harry completely when she heard screams from the crowd. He had done it! He had caught the Snitch! They won! _We won!_

Ella reached Harry after Oliver, Fred, and George. Her, Angelina, Katie, and Alicia, who had rushed out onto the field were repeatedly screaming, " _We've won the Cup! We've won the Cup_!"

The entire team was hoisted onto the shoulders of the crowd and Ella wished nothing more than for her brother to be here. He probably could have lifted both her and Angelina and each shoulder. But what she did see was Percy Weasley, jumping up and down, all dignity forgotten. Professor McGonagall was sobbing even harder than Oliver and wiping her eyes on a Gryffindor flag. Cedric was there, albeit keeping a safe distance from Ella, but still cheering for her and applauding wildly. Hagrid was yelling and stomping, practically making the ground shake, Ron and Hermione were beaming at Harry, and Juni and Cho were directly under her, smiling at her and cheering.

Ella watched as Oliver, who was sobbing uncontrollably, passed the Cup to Harry, and Harry held it proudly in the air. Ella had never seen the boy so happy and it made her heart swell.

Later, the Gryffindor locker room was probably the best place on earth to be at that very moment. There was happiness radiating off of every member of the team and they couldn't stop yelling and hugging each other. Despite all of the affection going around, Ella hadn't gotten a chance to hug George on his own yet, and she'd be damned if she didn't take that chance. They came face to face, well, face to chest due to the height difference, hesitated for a moment, and then slammed into each other like opposite poles of a magnet.

Ella was still soaked in sweat, dizzy, and breathless, but she couldn't remember a time when she had felt as good as she did now. Her face was buried in George's chest and she inhaled the pure scent of him and George's chin rested atop Ella's head, squeezing her tightly. They stayed like that for Merlin knows how long until Wood broke them up to pull Ella into a bone crushing hug. Ella and George were both a bit sour about it but decided to let it go in light of the situation. This was probably the best day of Wood's life thus far.

* * *

After everyone had returned to their dorms from the massive victory party that the Gryffindors had thrown in their common room, they all basically fell asleep upon contact with their pillows. Everyone except for Ella. She held too much excitement, too much adrenaline still coursing through her veins. There was absolutely no way she was getting to sleep anytime soon. So, she decided to sneak back down to the common room to admire the House Cup one more time.

When she got down to the common room, Oliver was already there, sitting in front of the Cup and staring at if with as much love as if it were his firstborn child. "Hey," she said, "you're up late."

"Jesus!" Oliver yelped and covered his mouth in surprise. "Merlin, Ella, you scared me!"

"Really? I couldn't tell," Ella said, chuckling and sitting down next to Oliver on one of the plush red sofas. "Does it really hypnotize you that much?"

Oliver sighed dreamily. "You have no idea. I've dreamed of this ever since my first year. This is — this is the best day of my life, Ella."

"I can imagine," said Ella, resting her head on Oliver's broad shoulder. "I hope we can get along without you next year, Ollie. It's not gonna be the same without you."

"Nah," Oliver said, putting an arm around her and leaning back, taking Ella with him, "you guy'll be fine. I promise." They sat in silence, admiring the Cup for a few minutes before Oliver started laughing to himself.

"What?" Ella asked, and started laughing with when he didn't answer her. " _What_ , Ollie?"

"I was just thinking, 'If George comes down here right now, he'd probably break my nose again.' I mean, it wouldn't be the first time that he's punched me over you."

"Wait, what? You can't be serious! When did that happen?"

"Pft," Oliver said, waving his hand casually, "it was last year. Didn't he tell you about that? It was the day you got petrified and didn't show up for a Quidditch match and when he got back to the common room later I called you and traitor and I was yelling and WHAM! He socked me right in the nose. Clean break."

"Oh god," Ella groaned, covering her face with her hands, "I'm so sorry. That's awful!"

"Not really," Oliver disagreed, "I kind of deserved it anyways. When's that gonna happen, by the way, you and George?"

Ella's eyes rolled. "I dunno, Ollie, when are you and Marcus gonna happen?"

"Can you keep a secret?"

Ella nodded profusely.

Oliver leaned down and whispered in her ear, "It's already happened."

"I knew it!" Ella said loudly, earning her a shushing from Oliver. "I fucking knew you were gay, you liar," she said more quietly this time. "How long has this been going on?"

"A couple months. Why do you think they play dirtier and dirtier every time we play them? I kept telling him that he didn't need to overcompensate but it was always, 'No, Wood, we can't let anyone know what's going on. We have to hide this.'" Oliver sighed. "And, I mean, he was right, we did, we still do, but he didn't need to almost kill half of my team, y'know?"

Ella's jaw was dropped, she couldn't believe what she was hearing. She had been right about Oliver all this time! "I can't believe this! And are you like, happy together?"

"Oh, yeah," Oliver said while nodding. "This is the happiest I've ever been in a long time. I know that Marcus is a little bitter over not winning the cup, but I know he's happy for me. He thinks it's cute how obsessed I am with Quidditch."

"But if you two are so happy together. . .why do you have to hide it so much?"

"Think about it, Ella. That would not go over well. Neither of us wants to spend our last few months of school being mocked mercilessly. Would you?"

"No," Ella sighed. "But that's just not fair! You guys deserve a right to be happy just as much as anybody else!"

"I know, Ella," Oliver said, "But it'll come in due time. Marcus always says that when we get out of school, that we won't have to hide it anymore. He says to hell with what anyone thinks after that, he says that he's going to show me off like the House Cup."

"Aww," Ella cooed, "that's adorable. You guys are adorable, even though Flint is a major twat sometimes."

Oliver laughed. "Yeah, you've got that right. He actually hates it, though, did you know that? He hates being such an arse to so many people, being one of Malfoys cronies. But if you heard the kind of pressure that his family puts on him," Oliver shuddered. "It's truly disturbing." They sat together in silence once more as the fire blazed in front of them, lighting up the Cup before Oliver spoke up again quietly. "I'm gonna miss you, Ella," he said, his voice shaking slightly.

"No, Ollie, don't," Ella said as she cuddled up to Oliver even more. "Don't you dare start crying. If you start crying then I'll start crying and it'll be a whole mess."

"I can't help it," said Oliver as he rubbed his eyes. "You're literally one of my favorite people in the school and I'm not gonna get to see you every day after this term. That sucks!"

"Yeah, but I'll come visit you! And you can come to matches!"

"I know," Oliver said, squeezing Ella tightly, "I'm just gonna miss it. I'm gonna miss you. Everybody, really. But you especially, Ella, you've changed me."

Tears had started to well in Ella's eyes now. "Ollie, I told you not to —"

"Let me finish. That's one of the things that I love about you. You call me Ollie. No one else does, not one single person. Just you. And I don't know, it just makes me feel really good. Like I mean something to you. You're like the little sister that I never got to have, and honestly, you're one of my best friends.

"I never would have been able to approach Marcus like I did this year if it hadn't been for you. I mean, yeah, you made a lot of jokes about it, but I never forgot all the times when you told me, 'It's okay, Oliver,' or 'Be yourself, Oliver.' That stuff really stuck with me, really made me think. And you showed me how to paint and you showed me how to play guitar. I've opened up because of you, Ella, and I just wouldn't feel right leaving Hogwarts without telling you that."

"Oh my god, Ollie," Ella said, burying her face into Oliver's chest. "I'm gonna miss you so much. Fuck the team, I don't know how _I'm_ gonna get along without you next year."

"Don't worry about it, kiddo, you'll be just fine. I know it," Oliver said, planting a kiss on the top of Ella's head.

"So, if George does come down here and flips out because we're cuddling, does that mean that I get to tell him you're gay and rub it in his face that I was right all along?"

"Hell no!" Oliver said while laughing. "If he hears from anyone, it's going to be me."

And Ella and Oliver sat like that, cuddled on the couch, until the early hours of the morning. Oliver told her stories about him and Marcus, and Ella finally confessed that she had feelings for George. It felt good to actually say it to someone. To admit it. Not just to Oliver, but to herself. She had never imagined that when she met Oliver Wood, that he would leave such a permanent mark on her life.


	37. A Splendid Train Ride

"Three OWLs each?" Ella said as she looked at Fred and George's exam results. "Oi, your mum's going to actually kill you guys."

Fred shrugged. "What do we care?" He was scribbling furiously on a piece of parchment, as was George. "We have more important things to worry about than stupid OWLs."

"Like what?" Ella said, leaning over and trying to read what George was writing.

"None of your business, nosy!" George said and yanked the parchment out of her view. "You'll find out in due time."

Ella rolled her eyes fondly. "Yeah, alright. Well," she got up from the sofa that the three of them were sitting on, "I'm cold. I'm going to grab a jumper."

"Here, take mine," George said, standing up and scrambling to pull his off of his body so that Ella could wear it, quite clumsily too.

Ella covered her mouth to stifle her giggling. "Down, boy," she said and placed her hand on George's head, which was still tangled in his sweater, and pushed him back onto the sofa. "You're way too tall, I'd be swimming in that thing. Besides, I'm very capable of getting my own jumper."

As Ella was walked up to her dormitory, still chortling, Fred was trying to hold in his own laughter. "What's so funny?" George snapped at him after he successfully got his head out of the woolen material of his jumper.

"Oh, nothing," Fred side, his lips twitching into a smile. "I just can't believe that you're still trying to deny that you like her when you just did _that_."

"I was being _nice_!"

Fred was still laughing. "Yeah, whatever you say. Just get back to the order forms, Romeo."

* * *

When Ella got to her dorm, Hermione was sitting on her bed, staring seemingly into an endless vortex that only she could see. "'Mione, you all right there, pal?" Ella asked as she rifled through her wardrobe to find a sweater.

"Huh?" Hermione said, shaking her head slightly to knock herself out of the daze.

"I asked if you were all right," Ella said as she pulled an oversized Nirvana jumper off of its hanger.

Hermione nodded absentmindedly and gnawed at her bottom lip. Her hair seemed even frizzier than it normally did. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine."

"You sure?" Ella asked, sitting next to Hermione on the four postered bed.

"Yeah," Hermione said, even though she was shaking her head no.

Ella wasn't really certain on what to do, it was obvious that Hermione wanted to tell her something, but she wasn't sure if she should press her on it. "I mean, okay, but if you ever need someone to talk to who isn't Harry or Ron, then —"

"Oh, I _do_ need someone to talk to, thank you!" Hermione raved, cutting Ella off, and Ella had to suppress another laugh. The fact that Hermione _had_ been wanting to talk to Ella but didn't say so until Ella herself brought it up amused her greatly. "My life is so crazy now, Ella. I don't even know how it happened."

Ella snorted and reclined against her pillows, pulling the sweater over her head. "Tell me about it." When Hermione sat there quietly Ella said, "No, seriously, tell me about it."

"Oh!" Hermione said, apparently frazzled that Ella was actually willing to listen to all of the drivel that Hermione needed to spill. "Well, where do I even begin? Okay, so this year I've been using a Time Turner that Professor McGonagall gave me — please, Ella, keep that to yourself — I've been using it to get to all of my extra classes.

It's honestly been driving me mad, I don't think I can do this for another year. I'm probably going to give it back to her after the feast, I just can't handle all of this work, I hate to say. And — wait, I'm not finished — last week I used it to help Harry help Sirius Black escape by helping Hagrid by helping Buckbeak escape."

Ella stared at her for a few minutes, silent and completely stunned by all the information that Hermione had just unleashed upon her. "You — I don't — how did you —" she drew in a deep breath to gather her thoughts and compose herself. "Well, you're gonna have to help _me_ to understand what in the hell you just told me. You helped Sirius Black escape? The _murderer_?"

"No no no!" Hermione assured her rapidly. "He's not a murderer, I swear!" She got in really close to Ella and hushed her voice, even though no one else was in the room with them. "He's innocent, Ella, it wasn't him. It was this man named Peter Pettigrew —"

"Who's Peter Pettigrew?"

Hermione put her head in her hands and sighed, "Ugh, it's such a long story and it's not going to make sense unless I tell you the whole thing."

"Well, in that case," Ella said and pointed her wand at her bed and said, " _Engorgio_ ," causing the bed to almost double in size. Ella patted the spot on the mattress next to her, indicating to Hermione to sit down next to her. "C'mon, get comfy and tell me the whole story."

"Okay. . ." Hermione said hesitantly, "But you have to promise that you won't tell anyone anything I'm about to tell you. Not Juni. Not Fred and George. Not Katie. Not anyone."

"I swear on me ma's grave, I will not," Ella said, crossing her heart with her fingers.

So Hermione divulged every secret that had been weighing her down for the past three years to Ella, her most trusted friend, besides Harry or Ron. Ella could barely wrap her head around everything that she was hearing. Sirius being wrongly accused, Pettigrew escaping by turning into a rat, Professor Lupin being a werewolf. It all seemed so unreal. And it didn't stop there either. Hermione told Ella the truth about everything. Everything from Professor Quirrell and the Philosopher's Stone to what happened down in the Chamber of Secrets. Obviously, Hermione wasn't present, she and Ella were both petrified, but Harry and Ron filled her in on every little detail. Roughly two hours had passed before Hermione had exhausted every detail that she could tell Ella.

"Wow," Ella said, staring blankly up at her ceiling. "You three've done all that in just three years?"

"Yup," Hermione sighed. "It's been a long three years, and I don't expect the other four to get any easier."

"Yeah, you're probably right. But hey, if you ever need anything you know that you always have me, right?"

"Of course," Hermione said, a smile spreading across her face. "But I really don't think I'd ever be able to ask you for help, Ron and Harry would be furious if they knew I blabbed all this to you. I can't believe I even told you all of that, it's all supposed to be very hush-hush, but I just needed to tell someone."

"Hmm," Ella hummed, stilling mulling all the information over in her head. A couple minutes of comfortable silence passed before Ella said quietly, ". . .Do you really think he's gonna come back, 'Mione? You-Know-Who, that is."

"Yeah, I really do. I trust Harry, and Harry thinks so too," Hermione said just as quietly.

"Let's not think about that right now!" Ella said, suddenly very eager to change the subject. "The feast'll be starting soon, so let's get going!" Before they could walk out of the dormitory Ella pulled Hermione into a hug and said, "I mean it, 'Mione, I'm here for anything you ever need."

"Thank you," Hermione replied, her face buried in Ella's shoulder. "And you promise you won't tell anyone?"

"I wouldn't dream of it," Ella said and ruffled Hermione's bushy hair. "Besides, how could I betray my little sister like that?"

"I'm not your little sister."

"Yeah, well, you're as good as," Ella said as her and Hermione started making their way towards the feast.

* * *

"George, can I please have my book back? I was enjoying it!" Ella whined as he tried to reach her copy of _So, You Want to Create Spells?_ that George was holding high above her. She was failing greatly due to their massive height difference and the rocking of the train car.

"No!" George said. "You've been ignoring us all for the whole ride with your head in this book! Be a little social, Ellie."

"Fine," Ella huffed and sat down, pouting. "I swear, you're so infuriating! I'm gonna throw this damned necklace out the window," she said, clutching the Rose Quartz around her neck.

"Ha!" Juni snorted. "You'd rather kiss a Dementor than give that necklace up. Remember what happened on New Year's when Katie found it in your bag and you —"

"Alright!" Ella cut in, blushing profusely. "That's enough of that! Let's change the subject, shall we?"

"Oh no, I think I want to hear this story in very vivid detail. Juni, please, continue," Fred said, leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees.

Ella narrowed her eyes at him. "Y'know, Fred, I have plenty of dirt on you that I would be more than happy to share with your mum over the summer if you keep it up. Think very hard. How well do you see that going?"

"Touché, Donella Stirling, you are a worthy opponent," Fred said dramatically. "Although, you do realize that I have plenty of dirt on you as well, right?"

"There really wouldn't be any point in ratting her out," Angelina interjected. "Her mum thinks Ella's an absolute angel, she'd never believe a word of it."

"Anyways," Ella said impatiently, "like I said, let's change the subject. Fred, George, a little birdie told me that you're going to the World Cup this summer?"

"Most likely," George said. "Why? You want us to bring you along?"

"No need," Ella said excitedly, "Ma's already getting tickets from work."

"Wait," said Katie, setting her copy of Witch Weekly as her eyes grew to the size of dinner plates, "wait, Ella, do you mean the Quidditch World Cup?"

"Yes! Why? Are you going too?"

"No," Katie groaned. "Mum and Dad said we probably won't be able to get tickets because we've waited so long. And neither of them work for the Ministry so we don't really have any ties." Katie sank into her seat and sulked.

"Ella, give her the ticket that your ma got for me, I don't mind," Juni offered.

"What?" Katie and Ella bellowed as if Juni had just suggested that they assassinate the Minister of Magic.

"Juni, are you sure? Ella's mum got that ticket for you, not me."

"Yeah, think long and hard about this, man," Fred chimed in. "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity."

Juni shrugged. "I couldn't give a rat's arse about Quidditch, honestly. I mean, yeah, I love watching you guys play because you're my friends, but Katie loves Quidditch. She should be the one to go, not me."

"What a noble man," Lee said, clapping Juni on the shoulder.

"Are you sure, Junes?" Ella asked.

"Yeah, it's honestly fine. Take the ticket, Katie. You and Ella are probably going to talk about it enough that it'll feel like I actually went."

"Oh my god, thank you so much, Juni!" Katie gushed happily. "I'll repay you for this, I swear!"

"Katie, calm down, it's really fine," Juni said, chuckling a returning to his own book.

"Does anyone know if Alicia's going?" Katie asked, suddenly very excited.

"Yeah," said Angelina, "her family's had tickets reserved for months. She comes from a total Quidditch family. Y'know, Ella, I'm surprised Jackson never played. With the build he has I'm sure he —"

"Okay," Ella cut in once again, "Jackson's 'build' is definitely not something I need to hear about!" The entire burst out laughing as Ella slapped both of her hands over her ears and squeezed her eyes shut.

A couple hours passed and Alicia returned from hanging out with one of her other friends, Arianna, who she had been spending gratuitous amounts of time with, and they all enjoyed their train ride home immensely. Despite losing her boyfriend during the term, this had probably been one of the best endings to a year that Ella had ever had. Even the ride home was splendid, considering that she fell asleep with her head resting on George's shoulder for the last bit of it.


	38. Summertime at The Burrow

"Honestly, Ginny, you really should leave it alone. I don't see the point in badgering me about it. Nothings going to happen, there's not even anything between us."

"But there is something between you two! I see it every day! Ella, don't you see how he looks at you?" Ginny whined.

Ella rolled her eyes and said, "No, Gin, I don't see it. Do you want to know why I don't see it? Because there's nothing to see! He doesn't like me, that ship has sailed."

"Ugh," Ginny groaned as she fell back on her back. "She is so stubborn. Katie, how do you deal with her?"

"I don't," Katie replied, not even looking up from her Quidditch catalog. "I just let her go on her little rampages until she realizes that she's wrong."

"I'm not wrong, you nitwits!" Ella yelled, throwing a pillow at Katie.

Katie and Ella had arrived at the Burrow a few days before Harry and Hermione would be before the Quidditch World Cup. They would have come along with the others if it wouldn't have been for Mrs. Weasley's begs for Ella to come earlier. And with Ella, of course, also came Katie. The girls were shaken from their playful bickering as they heard a commotion coming from downstairs.

"That wasn't funny, Fred!" Ella heard Mr. Weasley yell. "What on earth did you give that muggle boy?"

Katie and Ella looked at each other. "Uh oh."

"Oh, so you're going to tell me that you don't fancy him, but you'll run at the very inkling of his voice? Very convincing, Ella!" Ginny yelled after Ella as she and the two other girls raced down the stairs to see what was going on.

"We didn't give it to him because he's a Muggle!" Fred said.

"No, we gave it to him because he's a great bullying git," said George. "Isn't he, Harry?"

"Yeah, he is, Mr. Weasley," Harry said in earnest.

"That's not the point!" raged Mr. Weasley. "You wait until I tell your mother —"

"Tell me what?" Said Mrs. Weasley from behind them, flanked by Ella's mother who was carrying a load of laundry.

"Oh hello, Harry, dear," she said, spotting him and smiling. Then her eyes snapped back to her husband. "Tell me what, Arthur?"

As they were waiting for Mr. Weasley to answer Mrs. Weasley Harry smiled at Ginny, and Ella could basically feel the giddiness radiating off of her. There was no doubt that she was blushing scarlet.

"Go, go now," Ella's mother mouthed to them silently, she could tell that things were about to get hostile. Molly Weasley definitely knew how to dish out punishment.

"Tell me what, Arthur?" Mrs. Weasley repeated, and Ella's spine broke out into chills.

"It's nothing, Molly," mumbled Mr. Weasley, "Fred and George just — but I've had words with them —"

"What have they done this time?" Mrs. Weasley said. "If it's got anything to do with Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes —"

"Why don't you show Harry where he's sleeping, Ron?" said Hermione from the doorway.

"He knows where he's sleeping," said Ron, "in my room, he slept there last —"

"We can all go," Hermione said pointedly, and Ella and Katie started to shuffle uncomfortably from the room.

"Oh," Ron said, cottoning on, "right."

"Yeah, we'll come too," said George, and Ella lit up with the slightest bit of hope.

"You stay where you are!" Mrs. Weasley snarled at the twins, and there went Ella's hope.

Ella made her way out of the kitchen with Hermione, Katie, and Ginny, now accompanied by Harry and Ron, mouthing a quick, "good luck," to Fred and George before she left.

"What are Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes?" Harry asked as they climbed the zigzagged stairway of the Burrow.

"Only the biggest joke shop in the making that there ever was," Ella said proudly, as her, Ginny, and Ron laughed.

"Mum found this stack of order forms when she was cleaning Fred and George's room," said Ron quietly. "Great long price lists for stuff they've invented. Joke stuff, you know. Fake wands and trick sweets, loads of stuff. It was brilliant, I never knew they'd been inventing all that. . ."

"We've been hearing explosions out of their room for ages, but we never thought they were actually making things," said Ginny. "We thought they just liked the noise."

"Only most of the stuff — well, all of it, really — was a bit dangerous," said Ron, "and, you know, they were planning to sell it at Hogwarts to make some money, and Mum went mad at them. Told them they weren't allowed to make any more of it, and burned all the order forms. . . . She's furious at them anyways. They didn't get as many O.W.L.s as she expected."

"They're both such brilliant idiots and I offered to help them study for their exams. They could have gotten such good marks but nooo," Ella grumbled to herself, making Katie laugh under her breath.

"And then there was this big row," Ginny said, "because Mum wants them to go into the Ministry of Magic like Dad, and they told her all they want to do is open a joke shop."

And then a door on the second landing opened, and a face poked out wearing horn-rimmed glasses and a very annoyed expression.

"Hi, Percy," said Harry.

"Oh hello, Harry," said Percy. "I was wondering who was making all the noise. I'm trying to work in here, you know — I've got a report to finish for the office — and it's rather difficult to concentrate when people keep thundering up and down the stairs."

"We're not thundering," said Ron irritably. "We're walking. Sorry if we've disturbed the top-secret workings of the Ministry of Magic."

"What are you working on?" said Harry.

"Nope, that's my cue," Ella said. "I refuse to be subjected to hearing about Percy's work again. I'm going to help my mum with something. See you guys later!" And with that, Ella practically flew down the stairs, sneaking past Mrs. Weasley yelling at her twin boys. She meandered out to the front of the Burrow where Ella's mother, Margaret, was waving her wand about and hanging laundry on the lines to dry. Mrs. Weasley had been so kind as to set up extra lines around the house because there were so many guests.

"Hey, Ma," Ella said, approaching her mother, whose back was turned to her. "Need anything help with the wash?"

Margaret sniffled and said, "N-no, sweetheart, it's alright. Go on with your friends, I-I'll be d-done in a minute."

"Mum?" Ella said again, placing a hand on her mother's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Then something seemed to snap inside Ella's mother and she turned around quickly, cradling Ella tightly and nearly squeezing the life out of her. It then became apparent to Ella that her mother was crying. She didn't know what else to do beside hug her back. "Ma, what's wrong? What happened?"

"N-nothing happened. I've j-just n-never seen him before!" Margaret sobbed into her daughter's shoulder.

"Ma, what are you talking about? What's wrong?"

Margaret pulled back and wiped her eyes thoroughly, sniffling loudly as she tried to gain back some of her composure. She drew in an incredibly shaky breath and said, "I've just never seen Harry before. He looks j-just like James, he does. And he has his mother's — his mother's eyes," she added in almost a whisper.

Ella stared at her mother slack jawed. "Ma, are you telling me that you knew Harry's parents?"

Margaret nodded and more tears started to spill down her face, although she was looking around to make sure no one was watching them. "Knew them? Sweetheart, I went to school with them."

"Why didn't you think to tell me something like that, Mum? That's, like, a really big deal!"

"I try not to think about it anymore," Margaret said, waving her hands as if trying to ward of her thoughts. "Those were bad times, Ella, very bad times. I can't expect you to understand."

"Understand what, Ma? You aren't being very clear right now."

Ella's mother buried her face into her hands. "I just — I haven't seen and I've tried not to think about James and Lily for years now and to see him, looking like a carbon copy of James. . .it brings back a lot of unpleasant memories. James and Lily weren't the only ones who were sacrificed and I — wait! You're only fifteen! I shouldn't even be telling you this!"

"Wha — Ma! You can't just —"

"I can and I will!" Margaret said, waving her arms about again. This conversation is over, now go and find Jackson. I'm sure he'll be needing some help."

"But, Mum!"

"No buts, Donella! Go."

Ella scurried away after that. Her mother rarely ever got mad at her, and when she used Ella's full name she knew that she better back off. So she stomped her way angrily over to the garden where all the other "kids" were. When she got there, she was greeted with Bill and Charlie slamming together two battered tables, both of their wands held in the air. Fred and George were cheering, Ginny and Katie were laughing, and Hermione looked like she was being torn between anxiety and amusement.

Jackson was sitting near Fred and George, he seemed to get along with them a great deal better when Ella wasn't around, and he was watching their six year old brother, Riley, like a hawk. "Oh hey, kiddo," Jackson said as Ella plopped down next to George, still bitter that her mom had yelled at her, "what's up?"

Ella had to wipe the sour expression off her face as Riley ran up to her, shouting, "Ella!" and he threw himself down into her lap. "Uncle Charlie lifted me up on a table!"

"Uncle Charlie, huh, squirt?" Ella said as she ruffled Riley's hair. Her bad mood was already starting to melt away. "Well, I hope to god that he was being careful with you or else he's going to have to answer to me!"

"Of course we were being careful with him, Ella!" Charlie yelled over the clatter of the two tables, his focus still on beating Bill. "I don't fancy being cursed today!"

Ella snorted. "Yeah, you're lucky I can't do magic outside of school yet. So if anything happened to this little monster," she tickled Riley's sides and he screamed with laughter, "I'd just have to sick Jackson on you."

"Yeah right, idiot," said Jackson, reaching around George to shove Ella. "I'm not at your beck and call whenever you want, that would be George."

George blushed like mad but Ella didn't even notice, she was too busy making sure Riley didn't break her wand while he thoroughly examined it. Letting Riley handle her wand gave her the greatest amount of anxiety. Just then, Harry came around the bend of the garden and Ella wasted no time in calling Riley's attention to him. Riley sprinted up to Harry and started babbling at him excitedly and Ella had to stifle a laugh at Harry's flabbergasted expression.

Ella's attention drifted back to George and she laid her head in his lap, causing him to grow almost as red as his hair. "You know," Ella said, "while I did really like the necklace that Cedric got me, I do think this one suits me better."

"Yeah," George agreed as he absentmindedly played with strands of her blonde hair, "I think so too. Plus, I'm better looking than him anyways."

Ella laughed with her eyes closed, enjoying the feeling of George playing with her hair. "You're a goofball! Now come on, let's go help set up for dinner."

George followed Ella as she went to help set the table for dinner, delicious smells floating out from the kitchen. "Anything for you," he said quietly under his breath.

"What was that?" Ella asked.

"Hm?" George said, surprised that she even heard him. "Anything for food! I said anything for food! I am starving, aren't you?"

Ella laughed and shook her head while she was laying out plates along the tables. She knew exactly what he had said.


	39. On the Way to the Cup

Ella stumbled down the steps of the burrow with Hermione, Katie, and Ginny. Still not a morning person, Mrs. Weasley's early wakeup call had not been a good start to her morning. She was so exhausted while getting ready that she had basically put her clothes on with her eyes shut.

"Good morning, girls!" Ella's mother chimed when Ella walked into the kitchen. Unlike Ella, Margaret Ross was quite the morning person. "I hope you all slept well."

"Why do we have to be up so early?" Ginny whined while rubbing her eyes and sitting at the table. Ella took the seat in between Ginny and George, wasting no time in resting her head on his shoulder and nodding off again.

"We've got a bit of a walk," Mr. Weasley said and Ella groaned sleepily.

"Walk?" said Harry. "What, are we walking to the World Cup?"

"No, no, that's miles away," said Mr. Weasley. "We only need to walk a short way. It's just that it's very difficult for a large number of wizards to congregate without attracting Muggle attention. We have to be very careful about how we travel at the best of times, and on a huge occasion like the Quidditch World Cup —"

"Hey, sleepyhead," George said quietly to Ella, shaking his shoulder to jostle her awake, "you gotta wake up. We're leaving soon, I need to get my stuff."

"Mmm, okay," Ella mumbled sleepily, resting her head on the table after George got up.

"George!" Mrs. Weasley said sharply, startling everyone and effectively waking Ella up, for good this time.

"What?" said George, in an innocent tone that deceived nobody.

"What is in your pocket?"

"Nothing!"

"Don't you lie to me!"

Mrs. Weasley pointed her wand at George's pocket and said, " _Accio!_ "

Several small, brightly colored objects zoomed out of George's pocket; he made a grab for them but missed and Ella rolled her eyes at him, they sped right into Mrs. Weasley's outstretched hand.

"We told you to destroy them!" said Mrs. Weasley furiously, holding up what were unmistakably more Ton-Tongue Toffees. "We told you to get rid of the lot! Empty your pockets, go on, both of you!"

The whole thing was really rather unpleasant to watch. Mrs. Weasley could be completely terrifying when she wanted to be, especially when yelling at Fred and George. Ella sat helplessly, wishing she could help the twins as Mrs. Weasley fired off summoning charms and took every Ton-Tongue Toffee that Fred and George were trying to smuggle out of the house.

"We spent six months developing those!" Fred shouted at his mother as she threw the toffees away.

"Oh a fine way to spend six months!" Mrs. Weasley shrieked. "No wonder you didn't get more O.W.L.s!"

That comment, in particular, made Ella cringe, she knew how upset Fred and George got when people brought up the whole O.W.L.s ordeal. They knew that they were intelligent and the fact that people assumed that they weren't because of their test scores infuriated the twins. All in all, the atmosphere was not very friendly as they took their departure. Mrs. Weasley was still glowering as she kissed Mr. Weasley on the cheek, though not nearly as much as the twins, who had each hoisted their rucksacks onto their backs and walked out without a word to her.

Ella, on the other hand, said goodbye to Mrs. Weasley and apologized to her for the twins behavior, and Mrs. Weasley gave her a sandwich made up of the leftovers from breakfast seeing as Ella had slept through the whole meal.

"Well have a lovely time," said Mrs. Weasley, " _and behave yourselves_ ," she called after the twins' retreating backs, but they did not look back or answer. "I'll send Bill, Charlie, Percy, and Jackson along around midday," Mrs. Weasley said to Mr. Weasley, as he, and the rest the group followed along after Fred and George.

As they walked across the field Ella sped away from her mother and Riley and caught up with Fred and George. "Have you guys gotten over your little episode yet?" Ella asked around a mouthful of her sandwich.

"Have you stopped stuffing your face yet?" Fred asked, still bitter over his fight with his mother.

George slapped his brother in the gut and sharply said, "Hey!" Fred had a tendency to snap when his temper flared, and usually, George didn't mind, but Ella was different.

But Ella was unfazed by Fred's attitude and said, "Never," as she continued to eat her breakfast. "But seriously, I am sorry about the toffees. I know how hard you guys worked on them."

"Yeah, well," George said while shrugging, "what can you do, right?"

"Just make more, I'm guessing," Ella said on a scoff. "I mean, you _do_ have the recipe down by now. You just have to make more, right?"

Fred sighed. "Yeah, but it'll take forever. Those aren't exactly easy to make, you know."

"Well, I can help you guys if you want," Ella offered. "You know I support this company in the fullest."

"Yeah, we know," Fred said and slung his arm around Ella. "Thanks, Ella."

"And?" Ella urged, poking Fred in the side.

Fred rolled his eyes and smiled. "And I'm sorry I snapped at you."

"There it is," Ella said and continued to chat with the twins as they walked.

That is until their conversation was halted by a voice that was all too familiar to Ella, saying, "Over here, Arthur! Over here, son, we've got it!"

Two figures were silhouetted against the starry sky over the hilltop and Ella was trying to will her heart to slow down. This couldn't be happening.

"Amos!" said Mr. Weasley and Ella's will broke and her heart began pumping at a mile a minute. Mr. Weasley strode over to the man that had yelled and within seconds was shaking hands with someone that Ella had expected to never encounter again.

"This is Amos Diggory, everyone," said Mr. Weasley. "He works for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. And I think you know his son, Cedric?"

In that moment Ella wished that she could transfigure herself into a tortoise and retract into her shell and never come out.

Cedric Diggory was an extremely handsome boy of around seventeen. He was Captain and Seeker of the Hufflepuff House Quidditch team at Hogwarts. He also happened to be Ella's ex-boyfriend.

"Hi," Cedric said, looking around at them all, his eyes lingering on Ella.

Everybody said hi back except for Fred and George, who merely nodded. They both were not fond of Cedric for obvious reasons, but they would blame in on the fact that they had not forgiven Cedric for beating the Gryffindor team in the first Quidditch match of the previous season.

"Not too bad," said Mr. Weasley. "We live just on the other side of the village there. You?"

"Had to get up at two, didn't we, Ced? I tell you, I'll be glad when he's got his Apparition test. Still...not complaining...Quidditch World Cup, wouldn't miss it for a sackful of Galleons — the tickets cost about that. Mind you, looks like I got easy…" Amos Diggory peered good-naturedly around at the three Weasley boys, Harry, Hermione, Ginny, and Ella and her family. "All these yours, Arthur?"

"Oh no, only the redheads," said Mr. Weasley. "But as I understand it, you're familiar with Miss Ella and her lot?"

"Ah, yes!" Amos said excitedly, scooping Ella into an unexpected hug. "Ella, my dear! How have you been?"

"I've been good, Mr. Diggory," Ella said uncomfortably. "And you?"

"Quite well, Ella, quite well. Thank you. And Margaret!" said Amos, moving on to Ella's mother and kissing her hand. "Looking radiant as ever. And who is this little fellow? One of yours, Margaret?" Amos said, talking about Riley hiding behind his mother's legs.

"Yes," Margaret said as she reached a hand behind her to stroke Riley's hair. "This is Riley. He just recently turned four years old, didn't you, pumpkin?" When Riley said nothing but rather clutched onto her skirt tighter, Margaret chuckled. "You'll have to excuse him, he's a bit shy."

Amos smiled at Riley nonetheless. "Well that's perfectly alright. Now, who are these ones, Arthur?"

"This is Hermione, a friend of Ron's — and Harry, another friend —"

"Merlin's beard," said Amos Diggory his eyes widening. "Harry? Harry _Potter_?"

"Er — yeah," said Harry, and Ella rolled her eyes. She felt very bad for Harry sometimes, well, most of the time. She couldn't imagine how frustrating it could be to have everyone and their mother gawking at her all the time.

As Mr. Diggory was babbling on about Harry Ella grabbed the twins by their ears and pulled them down to her height so she could hiss in their ears, " _Did you know about this_?"  
"No, Ella, we swear. We had no idea!" Fred whispered as he tried to wriggle out of her surprisingly strong grasp, and quite a painful one too.

"Yeah," George agreed. "Dad said we were meeting a friend of his from work but we didn't know that it would be _them_."

After glowering at them for a few more seconds Ella finally sighed and let them go. "Fine, I'm sorry. I just...didn't expect to start off my morning like _this_."

"Believe me, neither did I," George grumbled and shot Cedric a dirty look, which Cedric saw and looked away awkwardly.

"Must be nearly time," Ella heard Mr. Weasley say, and her and the twins rejoined the rest of the group. "Do you know whether we're waiting for any more, Amos?"

"No, the Lovegoods have been there for a week already and the Fawcetts couldn't get tickets," said Mr. Diggory. "There aren't any more of us in the area, are there?"

"Not that I know of," said Mr. Weasley. "Yes, it's a minute off...We'd better get ready…"

He looked around at Harry and Hermione.

"You just need to touch the Portkey, that's all, a finger will do —"

It was difficult for everyone to get a finger to the manky old boot due to their bulky backpacks, but they somehow all crowded around the Portkey. So they stood there, all clutching an old boot in the semi-darkness...how odd it must have looked.

George glanced at his watch, it was just moments away now and he smiled at Ella. "You ready?"

She returned his smile in that challenging way that she had that made his heart soar more than she could ever know and said, "Please, Weasley, I was _born_ ready."


End file.
